Shares in fast-fashion giant Shein fell by almost 10% in their highly anticipated stock market debut Tuesday as the company listed in Hong Kong after a prolonged effort to go public, according to a report by BBC News.
Shein priced its shares at HK$48.56 each on Monday, raising 13.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, or about $1.7 billion. That gave the company a stock market valuation of $26.3 billion. In early trading Tuesday, shares were changing hands at 43.9 Hong Kong dollars each. Once estimated to be worth nearly $100 billion, the company is now valued at roughly a quarter of that figure.
The listing marks the largest new share sale in Hong Kong so far this year. It came after failed attempts to list in the United States and the United Kingdom, where concerns were raised over Shein's labor practices and environmental impact. The company, founded in China and now headquartered in Singapore, operates a global e-commerce network with sales in more than 150 countries.
Shein built its business by offering the very latest fashions at ultra-low prices through a vast network of factories in China, drawing especially large followings among younger consumers. The company said in a filing ahead of the listing that it has 281 million active customers who placed more than a billion orders in the year ending March 2026.
The debut comes at what one analyst called a difficult moment for the sector. Louise Deglise-Favre from research firm GlobalData said the listing comes at a "complex moment" as investors grow sceptical over the performance of fast-fashion companies. She noted that Shein is a rare standalone e-commerce firm that can be assessed on its own merits, but added that concerns over sustainability and ethical issues add to the complexity of the share sale.
Shares in rivals Asos and Boohoo have declined sharply in recent years under similar pressures. Shein also faces headwinds from U.S. and European Union crackdowns on cheap imports, which are squeezing its finances, as well as intensifying competition across the fast-fashion market.
