Shein Set to Raise $1.7 Billion in Hong Kong IPO at $26.5 Billion Valuation: Reports
Key Takeaways
- •Shein is expected to raise about $1.7 billion in its Hong Kong IPO by pricing shares near HK$48.56, implying a valuation of $26.5 billion.
- •The company abandoned earlier listing attempts in New York and London after encountering regulatory and political hurdles, including US lawmakers' calls for scrutiny of its supply chain and data practices.
- •The IPO's $26.5 billion valuation is far below the roughly $100 billion Shein reportedly reached in private funding rounds in 2022.
- •Washington's elimination of the US de minimis duty-free exemption for shipments valued under $800 has increased trade costs for Shein's direct-from-factory shipping model.
- •Shein faces growing competition from low-cost online rivals Temu and TikTok Shop as well as established fast-fashion brands Zara and H&M.
Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer, is expected to price its Hong Kong initial public offering near HK$48.56 per share, raising about $1.7 billion at a valuation of $26.5 billion, according to reports.
The listing marks a major milestone for the company after years of regulatory challenges, and would add to a broader revival in Hong Kong IPO activity this year, which has been lifted by large deals including battery maker CATL's roughly $4.6 billion share sale in May. Founded in China and now headquartered in Singapore, Shein built its business on low-priced apparel sold online. The company previously sought a listing in New York and later explored a float in London, but both efforts encountered regulatory and political hurdles — among them US lawmakers' calls for scrutiny of its supply chain and data practices — before it turned to Hong Kong.
Despite strong investor demand for the offering, Shein faces slower growth, shrinking margins, higher trade costs and increasing competition globally, the reports said. The trade-cost pressure reflects in part the end of the US "de minimis" exemption, which had allowed shipments valued under $800 to enter the country duty-free and had underpinned Shein's direct-from-factory shipping model; Washington ended the benefit for goods from China and Hong Kong earlier in 2025 before suspending it more broadly in August. On the competitive front, Shein contends with low-cost online rivals such as PDD Holdings' Temu and ByteDance's TikTok Shop, as well as established fast-fashion players like Zara and H&M, making how it adapts its logistics and pricing to the new tariff regime a key question for the company as it enters public markets.
The $26.5 billion valuation represents a steep discount to Shein's previous private-market valuations, which reportedly reached as much as about $100 billion in funding rounds in 2022, when pandemic-era online shopping was booming, underscoring how much the company's growth outlook has cooled for investors since then.
Source: Economic Times Markets
