Shein shares slide in long-awaited stock market debut

Shein's shares were trading 8.7% lower at 44.4 Hong Kong dollars each on Tuesday morning.The disappointing debut suggests the market is not convinced that Shein's growth can make a "comeback", said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at investment bank Saxo.Shein has more than 273 million active customers who placed a total of more than a billion orders in the year to the end of March 2026, the firm said in a filing ahead of the listing.But Shein now faces higher costs, regulatory scrutiny and more competition, while investors are increasingly drawn towards technology companies, Chanana said.For customers, the slump in Shein's shares is a sign that the firm's cheap prices are "becoming harder to sustain", which may lead to higher prices, she added.A benchmark for fast fashionThe listing marks the largest new share sale in Hong Kong so far this year, which is being seen as a test of investor appetite for the fast fashion industry. It is a rare "standalone" e-commerce firm that can be assessed on its own merits, fashion industry analyst Louise Deglise-Favre from research firm GlobalData.