The head of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has dismissed allegations that the exchange relaxed its criteria to secure Shein’s potential £50bn IPO in London.
The Chinese fast fashion giant which is headquartered in Singapore, has faced criticism from labour rights activists over the opacity of its supply chain and allegations that its suppliers engaged in forced labour involving Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region.
Initially planning to list in New York, Shein’s ambitions were derailed after US lawmakers expressed concerns about the retailer’s alleged labour practices and as it faced legal challenges from competitors, such as Uniqlo, over accusations the retailer copied its popular shoulder bag.
Though, Shein has not yet encountered formal opposition in the UK. Earlier this year reports said the retailer submitted paperwork in June to go public on the London Stock Exchange and and secured support for a potential UK IPO from the Labour party ahead of the July election.
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LSEG CEO David Schwimmer firmly denied claims that the exchange was compromising its standards to secure Shein’s £50bn listing in the UK, The Guardian reported.
He said: “To be clear, there is no lowering of standards on the London Stock Exchange. The listing approval process goes through the UK listing authority and to the extent that companies meet the requirements – and these are about disclosure around governance etc – of the UK listing authority, then they are able to list on the London Stock Exchange and take advantage of the governance regime and disclosure regime that we have.
“We have found that tends to be very good for companies in terms of having the disclosure and the scrutiny and the investor participating in how they are managed.”
He added, there was an “encouraging listing pipeline” and that the prospect for further share flotations was “looking up, certainly here in the UK”.
He told reporters on Thursday: “As you can see, a number of companies have made some indications that they are coming to this market. So I feel pretty good about the pipeline and the direction of travel.
“That’s due to a combination of factors. I think it is resolution of the [UK general] election, I think it is probably the improving macroeconomic environment, I think it is also due to the capital markets reforms.”
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