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TechTech Trends

Chinese tech IPOs to watch in 2024: global fast-fashion online retailer Shein leads the pack

  • Shein, which is based in Singapore, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States
  • Chinese tech firms’ bid to list overseas has been complicated by the country’s regulations and current geopolitical tensions

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China-founded fast-fashion online retailer Shein has reportedly been in talks with the London Stock Exchange for a potential public listing. Photo: Shutterstock
Coco Fengin Beijing
A handful of Chinese technology start-ups are poised to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) during 2024 or early 2025, with most of these firms looking to make their trading debut in Hong Kong.
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The most high-profile enterprise in this group is China-founded e-commerce firm Shein, the world’s second-highest valued tech start-up behind Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is expected go public in the next 12 to 18 months, according to a list compiled by market intelligence firm CB Insights.
Six companies based in mainland China were on the list. By contrast, there are 153 potential IPOs from companies in the United States and 31 from India, according to CB Insights data.
While most of the Chinese start-ups plan to float their shares in Hong Kong, Singapore-based Shein has reportedly filed for an IPO in the US and was also in talks to go public in Britain.
People shop at Shein’s holiday pop-up store inside the Forever 21 branch at Times Square in New York City on November 10, 2023. Photo: Reuters
People shop at Shein’s holiday pop-up store inside the Forever 21 branch at Times Square in New York City on November 10, 2023. Photo: Reuters

“China’s tech companies face strong headwinds in the form of the country’s stringent regulatory stance on tech and its fraught relationship with foreign economic powers like the US,” CB Insights said in its report.

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