Shein reportedly seeks valuation of up to 40 billion dollars for Hong Kong listing

Shein is targeting a valuation of 30 billion to 40 billion dollars in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) it could launch as early as mid-August, press agency Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the plans.

The target marks a reset for the Singapore-headquartered fast fashion retailer, which was founded in China and whose worth peaked at 98.2 billion dollars in 2022 before falling to 64 billion dollars in private fundraising rounds in 2023 and April 2024. Reuters said neither the valuation nor the timetable is final and both could move after feedback from investors. Pre-deal meetings began last week, with sessions held in New York, Boston and San Francisco.

Some potential cornerstone investors are pushing for a figure closer to 30 billion or 32 billion dollars, one of the people told Reuters, who added that Shein is prioritising a price the shares can hold after listing over the highest possible headline valuation. The company has not disclosed the size of the offering, the price or the listing date.

Valuation would sit near H&M, far below Inditex

At the top of the range, Shein would be worth roughly as much as Swedish group H&M, at about 26 billion dollars, and well below Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing of Japan at about 161 billion dollars and Zara parent Inditex of Spain at about 208 billion dollars, according to Reuters.

The draft prospectus published on July 26, 2026 showed revenue rose 8 percent to 41.8 billion dollars in 2025, up from 38.7 billion dollars in 2024, while net income fell to 2.06 billion dollars from 3.37 billion dollars. In the first quarter of 2026 the company swung to a net loss of 99 million dollars, against a profit of 395 million dollars a year earlier, on revenue that edged up 1.1 percent to 9.05 billion dollars. The quarterly loss included a fair-value charge of 328 million dollars on convertible redeemable preferred shares, an accounting item rather than an operating one.

Thinning margins have fed concern that Shein's expansion is meeting resistance from higher trade costs, closer regulatory scrutiny and sharper competition in global e-commerce. Shein said in the filing that the removal of the US de minimis exemption in May 2025, which had allowed parcels worth less than 800 dollars to enter the country duty free, has weighed on its American sales and pushed up operating costs. In Europe, its largest market at 14.8 billion dollars in 2025, the EU introduced a temporary customs duty of three euros per item on low-value consignments of up to 150 euros from outside the bloc on July 1, 2026.

Third exchange in three years

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved the Hong Kong listing on July 10, clearing the way for a float after unsuccessful attempts in New York and London. Shein has said it intends to use the proceeds for technology, global brand building, corporate responsibility work and general corporate purposes.

For the trade, the listing would open the first sustained public window into the economics of a business built on selling five-dollar dresses and 10-dollar jeans to shoppers in about 160 countries, at the moment when the duty-free parcel flows that underpinned those prices have been closed on both sides of the Atlantic.

This article was written with the assistance of AI.