Shein's refusal to utter the word 'Xinjiang' may placate Beijing, but it won't wash on the LSE

It is "not unusual" for UK-listed companies to carry legal risks around the world, Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, told the FT last month.

- Nils Pratley

The boss of the regulatory body which ultimately decides which companies can list their shares in London added: "What's important is that they disclose it, the investors understand it and they can price that risk."

His remarks were inevitably read as aimed at Shein, the Chinese-founded but Singapore-headquartered fast-fashion retailer whose possible London mega-listing has been a running story since it filed preliminary paperwork six months ago.

That interpretation also looked correct. Whereas US lawmakers bombarded Shein with hostile questions about its supply chain practices in China to the point where it abandoned hope of listing in New York, the early reception in the UK has been constructive. Labour ministers, desperate to give the London stock market a shot in the arm, have sounded positive. And here was the FCA merely stressing the need for relevant disclosures to allow investors to make up their own minds.