Can cut-price Shein shine in its long-awaited stock market debut? - BBC

Shein was valued at $26.2bn (£19.3bn) after its first day of public trading in Hong Kong, following a long effort to secure a stock market listing, down sharply from an earlier estimated valuation of nearly $100bn.
The company priced its shares at HK$48.56 each, raising 13.6 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.7bn; £1.3bn); shares fell as much as 10% early before recovering to close down just 0.12% at $48.50.
Shein's earlier attempts to list in the UK and US were derailed by concerns over its supply chain, ethics and environmental impact, alongside heated competition and trade tensions.
Chief financial officer Leigh Gui said Shein's model of selling large numbers of small orders reaches about 160 markets, and the firm reported more than 273 million active customers who placed over a billion orders in the year to the end of March 2026.
Analyst Charu Chanana of Saxo warned Shein now faces higher costs, regulatory scrutiny and more competition, suggesting its cheap prices are becoming harder to sustain and could rise.
The sale marks the largest new share offering in Hong Kong this year and is seen as a test of investor appetite for fast fashion, an industry where rivals Asos and Boohoo have struggled amid scrutiny and sustainability concerns; Shein was founded in China and has been headquartered in Singapore since 2021.