Shein, the Chinese ultra-fast-fashion retailer, has received the green light from Beijing to go public in Hong Kong, according to a notice published on the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s website on Friday.
As one of the largest online fashion retailers in the world, Shein will be allowed to issue up to 341.6 million shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to the notice.
Shein must complete the entire issuance and listing process within the next 12 months, the notice added.
Shein began its rocky pursuit of an IPO around four years ago.
The retailer had originally tried to list on the New York Stock Exchange, but its bid was blocked by U.S. lawmakers in 2023. It later pivoted to London in 2025, according to reports at the time. Although the IPO got a green light from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, it was blocked by Beijing, which in 2023 passed a new rule that allowed the CSRC to vet applications for offshore listings of Chinese firms.
Turning its gaze to Hong Kong, Shein submitted its confidential filing in the financial hub last June, Reuters reported at the time.
The Hong Kong IPO could value Shein at around $40 billion to $50 billion, according to Reuters sources.
Shein’s last founding round in May 2023 valued the company at $66 billion.
The company was founded by the famously private Chinese billionaire Chris Xu more than two decades ago in Nanjing. It later relocated its headquarters to Singapore, although most of its supply chain remains in the manufacturing hub of Guangdong province.
Last February, Xu made a rare appearance during the Guangdong Province Provincial High-quality Development Conference. Xu said that since calling Guangdong its manufacturing home in 2014, Shein achieved more than 100 billion renminbi, or $14.7 billion, in export sales, spanning apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and home goods.
Xu also revealed Shein’s investment plan in Guangdong. Over the next three years, Shein plans to invest more than 10 billion renminbi, or $1.4 billion, on an intelligent supply chain system in the province.
