(Aug 13): Shein Global Holdings Ltd plans to start taking investor orders for its long-awaited Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) as soon as Aug 20 and debut in the city around Aug 28, according to people familiar with the matter.

Shein had been targeting a valuation of about US$30 billion (RM122.62 billion) in the IPO — a fraction of its peak — but has faced pushback from investors and may lower it further, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Existing shareholders may take up as much as about half of the deal, they said.

The fast-fashion retailer is gauging demand for the offering, which is likely to raise US$2 billion to US$3 billion, Bloomberg News reported last week. 

Deliberations are ongoing and details such as size, valuation and timing may change, the people said. 

Closely held Shein is nearing the end of a long journey to go public, after failing to proceed with IPOs in both New York and London. After reaching about US$100 billion, its valuation has plummeted as growth slowed due to factors such as tariffs and competition from PDD Holdings Inc’s Temu.

Shein has told prospective investors it expects net income to drop this year and then return to nearer last year’s US$2.06 billion in 2027, some of the people said.

Shein is trying to position itself as a peer to Zara owner Inditex SA or H&M AB, which have price-earnings ratios of 28.7 and 19.5 times respectively. Morgan Stanley expects the company’s 2025-2028 net profit growth rate to be higher than Inditex’s and H&M’s.

Shein didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments. 

Founded in mainland China and now headquartered in Singapore, Shein built a global fast-fashion empire by offering low-priced, trend-driven apparel shipped directly from suppliers. But US tariffs followed by war in the Middle East have pushed up material costs and prices for consumers.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee