Shein Eyes IPO at $30 Billion, Down From $100 Billion Peak - Seoul Economic Daily

| Summary | Save A A A Reuters/Yonhap News Fast-fashion company Shein is seeking to raise funds at a valuation below $30 billion (about 42 trillion won), according to foreign media reports. Shein is reported to be planning to push ahead with its long-delayed initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong stock exchange on the 19th. Britain's Financial Times (FT) reported on the 10th, local time, that Shein's advisers are presenting potential investors with the option of investing at a valuation below $30 billion. That is about 30% of the more than $100 billion (about 141 trillion won) valuation the company recorded during its Series D funding round in 2022. According to the FT, one person said Shein had internally set a valuation target of $30 billion, and that the company could renegotiate with existing investors if the IPO proceeds at a lower level. Another person said investors were showing interest in investing at a valuation of more than the mid-to-high $20 billion range. Shein enjoyed explosive popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic on the back of prices as low as a few dollars. Consumers restricted from going out flocked to Shein, which combined low prices with massive advertising spending. But U.S. tariffs and the reduction or elimination of duty exemptions in the United States and the European Union (EU) have also become a burden. In the United States, the previous small-value duty exemption had allowed shipments under $800 to enter the country tariff-free, but the system was abolished in May last year. The EU also began imposing a fee of 3 euros per item on low-cost e-commerce imports starting last month. On top of this, the pursuit of Chinese rival Temu has threatened Shein. Temu has followed Shein's business model exactly, shipping products directly from factories to Western consumers' homes. The burden of air cargo freight rates, which heavily affects Shein's business structure, has also increased. Amid all this, Reuters reported that Shein plans to pursue its IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange on the 19th. China's Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved Shein's Hong Kong listing application last month. After failing to list in New York and London, Shein is now going ahead with a listing following a long four-year wait. But slowing revenue growth and tighter trade regulations remain challenges that a lower-valued Shein must overcome. In documents submitted to the Hong Kong Exchange, Shein said it recorded a net loss of $99 million in the first quarter of this year. Net profit, which had grown to $3.4 billion in 2024, plunged to $2 billion last year, and its net profit margin over the same period fell sharply from 8.7% to 4.9%. The fact that Shein was founded in Nanjing, China, but is headquartered in Singapore has added to its difficulties. One person warned to the FT that Shein, which produces goods in China but is headquartered in Singapore, could struggle to persuade major Chinese institutional investors to buy IPO shares. # Shein # IPO # HongKong # FastFashion # Temu # Valuation # Ecommerce Original reporting by Park Min-joo for Seoul Economic Daily. AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording. View Korean original ↗ Translation Policy Watch · Seoul Economic Daily More → 4:16 Youth Savings Hits 1.39M, Korea's Robot Talent Race | August 11 2026 4:16 ◆ Last week on SIGNAL Plus · Aug 4–10 Plus members read these first. Read the openings below. 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