Shein Global Holdings Ltd. has won approval from China’s securities regulator for a Hong Kong initial public offering, clearing a key regulatory step and opening the possibility of a market debut as soon as August, people familiar with the matter said.
According to those people, who spoke to Bloomberg, the fast-fashion e-commerce company may look to raise roughly $2 billion to $3 billion in the IPO. They cautioned that the final amount will depend on the valuation obtained and on feedback from prospective investors, and that deliberations over size and timing remain ongoing and could change.
The approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission arrived on a Friday, roughly a year after Shein first filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange. That regulatory nod clears a major hurdle for the company to pursue a public listing after two previous efforts to list in the United States and in London did not come to fruition.
Separately, Reuters reported that Shein was scheduled for a hearing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday, indicating continued procedural steps toward completing the offering. People familiar with the company said that shareholders have been pressing Shein to reduce its valuation to about $30 billion, a marked cut from an earlier valuation that exceeded that level by more than three times, according to people who spoke about the matter last year.
Executives and advisers are balancing those valuation concerns with market demand as they finalize plans. The company’s prospects for a successful IPO are being weighed against a backdrop of business pressures that the people said have affected Shein’s performance, including tariffs, heightened competition from Temu - a platform owned by PDD Holdings Inc. - and increased regulatory scrutiny.
Those factors are explicitly cited by the people familiar with the matter as influencing both investor sentiment and the company’s strategic decisions regarding timing and pricing of any offering. The company and its advisers continue to assess market conditions and investor reception as they move through the listing process.
Contextual note: Details on the exact timing, final offering size and valuation remain subject to change as discussions and feedback proceed.