After Getting Rejected By New York And London, Shein Just Cleared A Major Hurdle In Hong Kong

Shein's IPO story has basically become a case study in how much a company's fortunes can shift in just a few years. Back in 2022, the fast-fashion giant was being valued at around $100 billion and eyeing a splashy New York listing. Now it's clearing regulatory approval in Hong Kong at a valuation that's been roughly cut in half, and even getting to this point took two failed attempts elsewhere first.

The actual news

Shein has secured approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's listing committee for its planned IPO, according to people familiar with the matter. That approval is a significant procedural milestone; it means Shein can now move forward with investor roadshows and book-building, the process where the company and its underwriters gauge investor interest and set final pricing ahead of the actual share sale.

The listing committee hearing itself happened on Thursday, where Shein reportedly fielded questions about its operations and financial position. Neither Shein nor Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has commented publicly yet, and the sources describing the approval spoke on condition of anonymity since they weren't authorized to discuss it.

Why this listing matters so much

If this IPO actually goes through, it's expected to be one of Hong Kong's biggest and most closely watched listings in years. That's partly about Shein's own scale and brand recognition, but it's also about what this IPO represents more broadly a real test of whether investors still have appetite for large consumer-facing companies going public, especially after a stretch where big offerings in this space have been harder to pull off than they used to be.

There's also a specific backstory that makes this listing particularly symbolic: Shein tried this before, twice, in two different major financial capitals, and both attempts stalled out.

The road to Hong Kong wasn't the plan originally.

Shein originally wanted to list in New York. That plan ran into serious regulatory scrutiny and ultimately got delayed indefinitely U.S. regulators and lawmakers have raised ongoing concerns about the company's supply chain practices, labor conditions, and its ties to manufacturing in China, all of which made a smooth New York listing increasingly unlikely the longer scrutiny dragged on.

After New York didn't pan out, Shein pivoted to London instead, hoping a different regulatory environment might be more accommodating. That attempt also got delayed by regulatory concerns, leaving Shein without a clear path to going public in either of the two markets it initially targeted.

Hong Kong became the next option, and this listing committee approval suggests it might actually be the one that sticks though "approved by the listing committee" is still a step before an actual completed IPO, not the finish line itself.

The valuation tells its own story

Here's maybe the most striking detail in all of this: Shein is now seeking a valuation of between $40 billion and $50 billion for the Hong Kong listing. Back in 2022, during a funding round tied to its original New York listing ambitions, the company was valued at around $100 billion.

That's roughly a 50-60% reduction from where Shein once stood. A drop that large over just a few years reflects a combination of things the toll of repeatedly failed listing attempts, the impact of sustained regulatory scrutiny on how investors perceive the company's risk profile, broader shifts in how public markets have been valuing consumer and e-commerce companies generally, and possibly some cooling in Shein's own growth trajectory or profitability expectations compared to when it was raising money in 2022.

Whatever the exact mix of causes, the headline number is hard to miss: a company that was once being talked about as a potential $100 billion IPO is now targeting less than half that in a different market, after two earlier attempts fell apart.

Getting listing committee approval is an important step, but it's not the same as pricing shares and actually debuting on the exchange. Shein still needs to go through investor roadshows, the process where company executives pitch the business directly to institutional investors and book-building, where underwriters collect indications of interest and demand to help set the final IPO price and share allocation.

Given how much attention this listing is already drawing, and how much weight is being placed on it as a signal for investor appetite toward large consumer IPOs more broadly, expect the roadshow and book-building phase to be closely watched too. If demand comes in strong at the $40-50 billion range, it could help restore some confidence in large consumer listings generally. If it struggles to generate enthusiasm even at this reduced valuation, that would say something more concerning about how public markets are currently viewing consumer and e-commerce companies, particularly ones facing ongoing scrutiny over supply chain and labor practices.

Beyond just Shein

This IPO saga is a pretty useful window into how much harder it's become for certain types of companies to go public in Western markets right now, especially ones with significant China-linked supply chains or business practices that draw regulatory attention. Shein tried New York, got stuck. Tried London, got stuck again. Hong Kong, so far, looks like it might actually work which says something about how different financial centers are approaching risk, scrutiny, and appetite for hosting these kinds of large but controversial listings right now.

For Hong Kong specifically, successfully hosting one of the biggest consumer IPOs in recent memory would be a meaningful win, reinforcing the exchange's position as an alternative venue for major listings that might otherwise have gone to New York or London in a different regulatory climate.

For Shein, actually completing this listing even at half its old valuation would finally give the company the public market access and capital-raising ability it's been chasing since 2022, closing out a multi-year saga that's taken it through three different financial capitals before potentially landing somewhere that's willing to let the deal go through.