Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein is said to be considering moving its base of operations back to China from Singapore, ahead of a planned listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Shein was founded in China, but moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022 to clear the way for an overseas initial public offering. A year later, the company filed for an IPO on the New York stock exchange, only to see the effort collapse under U.S. political opposition, regulatory scrutiny, and concerns over its supply chain practices. An attempted pivot to a London IPO was met with similar obstacles, as U.K. regulators questioned Shein's alleged use of slave labor, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) withheld the official approval needed to move forward with the listing.

With the company's designs for an overseas listing falling through, Financial Times reports that Shein confidentially filed for an IPO in Hong Kong in July, and is now in talks with lawyers to set up a parent company in mainland China. Even while based in Singapore, Shein has been subject to regulatory oversight from the CSRC, given that the retailer still produces the majority of its clothing in China. Because of that, any IPO — be it in China or anywhere overseas — requires the CSRC's stamp of approval, with Shein looking to finally sway the commission with a potential move back to China. 

Shein's recent financial struggles go well beyond its failed IPOs as well. In May, the Trump administration revoked U.S. de minimis exemptions for Chinese goods, which Shein had relied on to ship millions of low-value packages to American customers daily. Shein experienced an 11% drop in U.S. sales the following month, and slashed its monthly ad spending in the U.S. by nearly 70% year-over-year in May and June.