Shein targets a $27 billion IPO after its peak valuation

Shein is targeting a Hong Kong IPO valuation of about $27 billion, a sharp reset from the $100 billion valuation attached to its 2022 funding round. The company plans to begin trading in Hong Kong at the start of September 2026, after pursuing potential listings in both New York and London, Reuters reported on August 23, 2026.

The proposed valuation is a little more than one-quarter of the figure reported by The Wall Street Journal in 2022, when Shein raised $1 billion to $2 billion. Shein remains a major online apparel seller, but investors are pricing in pressure on the low-cost model that drove its rapid expansion in the United States.

Why Shein’s valuation has fallen

Shein began as a wedding-dress company in 2008 and later built its business around inexpensive apparel sold directly to consumers. The company was founded in Nanjing, is headquartered in Singapore, and relies heavily on manufacturing in Guangzhou. Its growth strategy paired rock-bottom prices with social-media marketing aimed at young American shoppers.

The model accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when consumers shifted more of their shopping online. Shein’s prices also benefited from the US de minimis tariff exemption, which allowed low-value shipments to enter without the tariffs applied to larger commercial imports. That advantage helped keep its clothing prices below traditional retail levels.

The US eliminated that exemption in 2025, removing a cost advantage from the company’s core market. The change affected more than shipping administration; it challenged the economics behind the prices that helped Shein turn social-media discovery into high-volume purchases. The source material does not establish whether the proposed Hong Kong listing includes a revised operating model to offset those costs.

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Shein reported a $99 million quarterly loss in July 2026, another sign that sales scale has not insulated it from policy changes and slower growth. The company’s current IPO target reflects both the decline from its private-market peak and the question of whether its pricing structure can survive without the exemption that helped make its products difficult for US shoppers to resist.

Hong Kong listing puts US plans on hold

Shein had pursued listings on the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange before choosing Hong Kong. The decision means US investors will not receive the direct NYSE listing the company previously explored. Shein will enter public markets under conditions shaped by its Singapore headquarters, Chinese manufacturing base, and exposure to US trade policy.

The listing’s timing also leaves important details unresolved. The supplied reporting does not specify the number of shares Shein intends to sell, the offering price, the amount of capital it hopes to raise, or whether the $27 billion figure is a pre-money valuation, a post-offering market capitalization, or an approximate target. It also does not provide independent financial projections or a breakdown of how much the 2025 US tariff change contributed to the reported loss.

The size of the reset is clear. Shein was valued at $100 billion in 2022 and is now preparing to test public-market demand at roughly $27 billion, even as it remains tied to a cost structure built around extremely low prices and cross-border fulfillment. The first Hong Kong trading session in September 2026 will provide the market’s first public assessment of whether Shein’s pandemic-era growth story can become a sustainable business.