Fast-fashion giant Shein could be valued at almost $27bn (£19.8bn) when it makes its long-awaited stock market debut in Hong Kong on 1 September.

The company's move to go public follows unsuccessful attempts to list in the United States and London, where regulatory hurdles and scrutiny surrounding the business complicated its plans.

Shein, which is headquartered in Singapore but was founded in China, has grown rapidly since its establishment in 2008 to become one of the world's largest fast-fashion retailers, serving customers in more than 150 countries.

The e-commerce company has built its business around ultra-low-priced clothing and an extensive network of factories in China capable of quickly producing new items in response to emerging fashion trends.

In a filing on Monday, Shein said it plans to offer almost 280 million shares at between HK$47.60 ($6.07; £4.45) and HK$49.50 per share.

If the shares are sold at the top end of that price range, the offering would raise $1.77bn (£1.3bn) and give the company a market valuation of $26.8bn.

That figure represents a significant drop from the $100bn valuation Shein achieved in 2022, reflecting slower sales growth and rising costs.

The initial public offering (IPO) is being supported by major Wall Street investment banks Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan.

Shein's Hong Kong debut comes after the company has pursued a public listing since 2023.

Hong Kong has experienced a revival as a major destination for initial public offerings, helped by an increasing number of companies from mainland China choosing to raise money there.

Hong Kong has been revived as "one of the largest IPO markets" after attracting more firms from mainland China, according to Feng Qu, an associate professor of economics at Nanyang Technological University.

Feng said Shein is likely to secure a higher valuation in Hong Kong than it would have in London, where regulatory scrutiny ultimately disrupted its plans to list. He also said Chinese companies may be increasingly cautious about listing in the United States because tensions between the world's two largest economies could potentially lead to companies being de-listed.

Competition and roadblocks

Shein's stock market listing will provide a major test of investor confidence in both the fast-fashion sector and the company's ability to maintain its position in an increasingly competitive industry.

In July, Shein reported that it had moved into a quarterly loss as sales growth slowed following US President Donald Trump's decision to remove an import duty waiver for small packages known as the de minimis exemption.

The company said it lost $99m during the first three months of the year, compared with a net income of $395m during the same period a year earlier.

The results also came amid continuing uncertainty over the tit-for-tat tariff conflict between the United States and China, which is currently paused.

"In response to the increased duties and taxes, we are pursuing a wide range of options, including increasing our prices in the US market to offset a portion of the increased costs," Shein said at the time.

The company also said the Iran war had reduced demand, pushed up costs and caused delivery delays in some markets.

Its first-quarter results were also partly affected by a paper loss of $328m resulting from an accounting change involving special shares held by investors. Those shares can later be converted into ordinary stock, and their value can fluctuate before a company goes public.

Investors are now questioning whether rising costs and regulatory pressures could weaken Shein's ability to bring products to market as quickly and cheaply as it has in the past.

Marguerite LeRolland, from market research firm Euromonitor International, told the BBC that Shein's sales in the United States had slowed partly because of the end of the de minimis exemption.

The exemption had helped retailers such as Shein and its fierce rival Temu expand rapidly in the US by allowing them to ship goods to customers without facing import taxes.

These developments could "narrow the price gap" between Shein and competitors such as Primark and H&M, she added.

Jane Foley, Rabobank's head of FX strategy, told the BBC's Today programme that the end of the de minimis exemption "really did undermine the core business model of Shein", adding that the European Union had introduced a similar measure.

Despite the challenges, Shein's customer base has continued to expand. By the end of March 2026, the company had 281 million active customers, an increase of more than 16% from a year earlier, and those customers had placed more than one billion orders.

However, the company's fast-fashion model has also attracted criticism over its environmental impact and allegations of forced labour within its supply chains. Shein has previously told the BBC that it maintains a "zero tolerance for forced labour".

Its effort to list on the London Stock Exchange eventually collapsed after the company faced scrutiny over its refusal to answer questions concerning its supply chain practices.

As Shein prepares to enter the Hong Kong stock market, its debut will be closely watched by investors seeking to determine whether the company can overcome regulatory obstacles, rising costs and intensifying competition while preserving the low-price, rapid-production model that drove its extraordinary global expansion. 

By fLEXI tEAM