Proactive Investors - Politicians from both benches have called for greater scrutiny over Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein’s pending initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
In comments published in The Guardian, MPs targeted Shein’s opaque supply chains, questionable working conditions and links to Uygur forced labour.
“A company which has failed to make full disclosures about its supply chains as required by UK law, and where there are grave concerns about its factory working conditions has no place in London,” said Conservative chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns.
“With Shein’s prices so low the London Stock Exchange needs to ask itself, whose suffering is subsiding those prices?” she asked.
Singapore-headquartered Shein is on the verge of applying for an IPO in London, which would be among the largest flotations in the City’s history.
While it would be an undeniable shot in the arm for Britain’s floundering capital markets, it is also proving controversial.
A bipartisan backlash in the US effectively ended Shein’s chances of listing in the country last year.
Sarah Champion, the Labour chair of the International Development Select Committee, said that “serious concerns have been raised about the use of modern slavery by Shein which need investigating”, while Liam Byrne, the Labour chair of the Business Select Committee, called for parliamentary scrutiny.
Crossbench peer David Alton and Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael highlighted concerns about Shein’s use of forced labour in the Uygur ethnic minority in Northwest China.
“No decision should be made while parliament is dissolved, and should be subject to detailed scrutiny by select committees in both Houses,” said Alton.
Shein’s estimated annual sales were around $30 billion (£23.5 billion) in 2023, though some analysts believe the figure to be higher.