China’s securities regulator gave Shein the go-ahead to list in Hong Kong, ending a multi-year saga that saw the fast-fashion juggernaut bounced from New York to London and back again before finally landing on a viable path to public markets.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the IPO on July 10, marking the conclusion of a review process that stretched over a year. Shein had confidentially filed a draft prospectus with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited back in July 2025. Now the company is expected to launch its offering in the coming months, targeting a valuation between $40 billion and $50 billion.

In 2022, Shein was valued at $100 billion. By 2023, a fundraising round pegged it at $66 billion. Now it’s aiming for roughly half its peak.

A listing odyssey that spanned three continents

Founded in 2012 by Sky Xu in Nanjing, the company grew into one of the world’s most downloaded shopping apps by selling ultra-cheap clothing directly to consumers worldwide. The company initially explored a US listing, which ran headfirst into regulatory scrutiny and political headwinds surrounding Chinese companies listing on American exchanges. London became the backup plan, but British regulators and lawmakers raised concerns about supply-chain labor practices, environmental impact, and allegations of unfair competition. Shein had secured approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority for its prospectus but encountered further hurdles when the CSRC withheld clearance due to concerns over risk disclosures, particularly those related to operations in politically sensitive regions such as Xinjiang.

Hong Kong offers proximity to Shein’s operational base in China, a regulatory framework that Beijing can work with, and a stock exchange that has been actively courting big-ticket listings. In August 2025, reports emerged that Shein was contemplating a return to mainland China to help facilitate the approval of its Hong Kong IPO.

Why this matters beyond fashion retail

Hong Kong’s IPO market has been staging a comeback after a prolonged drought that saw listing volumes crater amid China’s tech crackdown, COVID disruptions, and rising US-China tensions. Shein’s listing, if it proceeds at scale, would represent one of the largest IPOs in Hong Kong in recent memory and could raise several billion dollars.

The CSRC’s willingness to approve the listing also sends a signal about Beijing’s current posture toward private enterprises seeking offshore capital. After years of cracking down on tech giants and tightening the screws on overseas listings, this approval suggests the pendulum has swung back toward pragmatism.

What investors should actually watch

The valuation compression from $100 billion to a target range of $40 billion to $50 billion reflects a broader repricing of growth-stage companies that rode pandemic-era consumer behavior to stratospheric private market valuations.

The ongoing scrutiny around labor practices in Shein’s supply chain adds a layer of risk that institutional investors will need to price in. Allegations of poor working conditions, environmental concerns about fast fashion’s carbon footprint, and accusations of unfair competitive practices have dogged the company across multiple jurisdictions, translating directly into potential regulatory action, consumer boycotts, and ESG-related investment restrictions.