Shein拟以最高约270亿美元估值于9月1日在港交所上市

FirstFT: Shein targets $27bn valuation in Hong Kong IPO
Good morning and welcome to FirstFT. In today’s newsletter:
Fast-fashion retailer Shein names IPO date
US-Canada trade war escalates
Singapore offers parents $55,000 in effort to boost birth rates
The privacy debate over AI glasses
The fast-fashion retailer Shein is seeking a $27bn valuation in a Hong Kong listing next week, almost three-quarters below its peak after previous attempts to list foundered amid pushback by regulators.
The China-founded company plans to raise as much as HK$14bn (US$1.8bn) in a September 1 listing. It is selling 280mn shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50, giving it a market capitalisation of HK$202bn to HK$210bn ($26bn to $27bn), according to a listing notice published by Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Monday. About 90 per cent of the shares will be available to international investors.
Chinese regulators approved the online retailer’s application to list in Hong Kong last month, giving the green light to an initial public offering that has been more than four years in the making.
Shein’s previous attempts to list in New York and London were derailed by opposition from politicians and regulators amid scrutiny of its Chinese supply chain. The sub-$30bn valuation compares with a valuation of about $100bn that Shein reached after a private fundraising round in 2022.
At the time, Shein was riding high. Pandemic lockdowns and social media hype from “Shein hauls” had drawn young consumers to its cheap, trendy clothing, making it the largest apparel retailer in the US by sales.
The story of how Shein’s four-year quest to go public went awry is a cautionary tale for companies caught in the middle of a growing rivalry between Beijing and the west.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
Economic data: Taiwan reports industrial output for July.
China-India border talks: India’s national security adviser Ajit Doval began a visit to Beijing to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi for talks on the countries’ disputed border in the Himalayas.
Five more top stories
1. Donald Trump has said he will increase tariffs on Canadian cars and automotive parts to 50 per cent, as a new trade war erupts between the North American neighbours following the collapse of crunch talks over the weekend. The US president said automotive products, including trucks, would be subject to higher tariffs from January 1, while existing steel levies would be locked in at the same rate.
More from Washington: Scott Bessent said the US was expanding the scope of secondary sanctions on Iran but offered no timeline of measures he said could “blow up” the world’s financial system.
2. Singapore has unveiled a package of measures to encourage families to have more children, offering parents more than $55,000 per child as the city-state battles a falling birth rate that has made it one of the fastest-ageing countries in the world. Singapore recorded a record-low fertility rate of 0.87 children per woman last year, far below the replacement level of 2.1.
3. Trump’s administration is teaming up with a British company to help it build a fleet of nuclear-powered merchant vessels to challenge China’s growing dominance of commercial shipbuilding, a top US official has said. The US is pushing nuclear-powered technology as a way to reinvigorate its shipbuilding industry, which has been decimated by low-cost Chinese competition.
4. Morgan Stanley and Schroders have participated in Australia and New Zealand’s largest venture capital round after backing technology investor Blackbird Ventures’ latest fund. Blackbird, which has carved a reputation as an early-stage investor in a number of the region’s breakout tech start-ups, has closed a $750mn fund, with backing from a number of international funds.
5. Ukraine has begun systematically targeting the warehouses of Russia’s second-largest online marketplace, Ozon, after weeks of drone strikes against market leader Wildberries. Ozon said yesterday that a logistics centre in Krasnodar was set ablaze by a drone after four of its warehouses in southern Russia had come under attack over the weekend.
AI is coming for your glasses
Executives at Meta, Google, OpenAI and other tech companies hope smart glasses and other similar portable products could one day replace the smartphone as our main gateway to AI. But critics denounce the wearables as “cringe stalkerware”. Tim Bradshaw and Hannah Murphy delve into the simmering privacy debate over AI glasses.
We’re also reading . . .
Private credit: The sector has piled up investments on life insurers. Patrick Jenkins writes that there are three areas of concern with the model.
Ad astra: Greater access to satellite systems is allowing more African scientists to gather and use data to help solve their countries’ problems.
Geostrategic shift: Climate change is reshaping world trade, financial markets, logistics and geopolitics, writes Rana Foroohar.
Chart of the day
Business investment in the US is on track to rise more than three times faster than in Europe in the six years since the pandemic, according to forecasts that highlight the AI-driven gulf opening between the two economies.
Take a break from the news . . .
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of FLIC, the FT’s financial education charity, we are offering a spectacular roster of top journalists in the 2026 charity lunch auction. Win and you can dine with your favourite columnist at one of the top restaurants in London or New York, all of which are kindly hosting us free of charge. Find out more here.