Shein shares fell sharply on their Hong Kong trading debut on Tuesday, dropping as much as 10% before recovering some of the losses, as the fast-fashion company faces rising tariffs and shipping costs that have put pressure on its profits.

The listing marks the end of a lengthy effort by Shein to enter public markets. The company had previously considered listings in New York and London but faced regulatory scrutiny over its Chinese supply chain and business practices. It eventually turned to Hong Kong for its initial public offering.

Shein priced its shares at HK$48.56 each and raised about $1.7 billion (€1.46 billion), making the offering one of Hong Kong’s largest share sales of the year. The company opened its IPO for investors on August 24 before setting the final share price on August 31. Trading began on Tuesday after the exchange completed its approval process.

Shares initially dropped below HK$44 before narrowing their losses.

“Shein’s Hong Kong listing marks a new starting point,” Chief Financial Officer Leigh Gui said during the company’s listing ceremony.

The company has built its global business around producing inexpensive clothing quickly and shipping orders from China to customers in Western markets. That model is now facing higher costs as the US and European Union reduce or end tariff exemptions for low-value parcels from China.

Shein’s profits have been hit by the changing trade environment. The company reported a $99 million (€85 million) loss in the first quarter of the year, compared with a profit of $395 million (€340 million) a year earlier.

Higher shipping expenses have added to the pressure, making it harder for the company to maintain its low-price strategy. Tariff costs have also forced Shein to increase prices, potentially weakening one of its biggest attractions to consumers.

Shein was founded in China in 2012 and later moved its corporate headquarters to Singapore in 2021. Despite that move, its manufacturing network remains closely connected to Guangdong province, where the company developed its small-batch production system.

Founder Sky Xu has described Guangdong as the company’s roots and the starting point of its growth.

The company has also faced regulatory challenges in Europe. In February, the EU opened an investigation into Shein over concerns involving allegedly illegal products, including accusations related to child sexual abuse material.

Shein’s Hong Kong debut values the company at roughly $27 billion (€23.2 billion), far below its peak private-market valuation.

The listing nevertheless gives Hong Kong’s stock market a major boost. The exchange has attracted more than $40 billion (€34.4 billion) through IPOs so far this year, as companies continue to seek access to international investors through the city’s financial markets.

Eurozone inflation rose sharply in August, reaching 3.3 percent as energy prices climbed at their fastest pace in months amid higher oil and gas costs and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The annual inflation rate increased from 2.9 percent in July, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office. The rise puts inflation well above the European Central Bank’s 2 percent target and could strengthen expectations of another interest rate increase.

Energy prices were the main driver behind the acceleration. They rose 14.3 percent in the year to August, up from an annual increase of 10.3 percent in July. On a monthly basis, energy prices increased 2.9 percent, contributing significantly to the overall rise in consumer prices.

Services inflation, which is closely monitored by the ECB because it tends to be more persistent, eased to 3 percent in August from 3.3 percent in July.

Core inflation also slowed slightly. The measure, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent. Food, alcohol and tobacco prices increased 1.2 percent from a year earlier, unchanged from July.

The figures indicate that higher energy costs have not yet translated into a broad increase in underlying price pressures. However, economists expect elevated gas and food prices to continue affecting inflation in the months ahead.

Leo Barincou, senior economist at Oxford Economics, said the increase was driven by a rebound in fuel prices following the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He said underlying price pressures remained contained because services inflation had eased, but inflation was likely to stay above the ECB’s target into next year.

Inflation varied considerably across the eurozone. Lithuania recorded the highest rate among countries included in the flash estimate, at 5.8 percent, while Estonia had the lowest at 1.3 percent.

Among the bloc’s largest economies, inflation stood at 2.7 percent in France and 2.9 percent in Germany, both below the eurozone average. France nevertheless saw a notable increase from 2.4 percent in July. Spain recorded inflation of 4.5 percent, while Italy reached 3.2 percent.

Markets are expecting the ECB to raise interest rates by 0.25 percentage points at its September 10 meeting as policymakers respond to renewed price pressures.

Barincou said inflation was accelerating and the ECB was highly likely to raise rates next week, but warned against assuming that another increase would immediately follow, given that underlying inflation pressures remain relatively contained.

The latest figures leave policymakers facing a difficult balance between controlling inflation and avoiding excessive pressure on economic activity.

US President Donald Trump has described a newly announced agreement involving Venezuela’s vast oil reserves as “the biggest oil deal in world history”, but the White House has released few details about the arrangement.

Trump said the deal would give the United States a significant stake in Venezuela’s oil resources and advance his administration’s goal of expanding access to the country’s huge reserves. The agreement was announced Friday night after US forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and brought him to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.

Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, presented the agreement as an important step towards rebuilding the country’s struggling energy industry. In a televised address Sunday, she said Venezuela would retain control of its natural resources and aimed to turn the country into a major global energy producer.

No full text of the agreement has been released, leaving major questions about its structure, financing and implementation.

According to Rodríguez, the agreement covers 17 oil fields with proven potential of 65 billion barrels. She said the project could attract about $100 billion in investment and generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue for Venezuela.

A US official, speaking anonymously, said the arrangement gives the United States an effective 55% share of the new private company’s output. That figure reportedly combines an ownership stake with rights to purchase oil at cost.

The official said oil purchased by the United States would be directed towards the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and military requirements. If the figures are confirmed, the company would rank among the world’s largest holders of proven oil reserves.

The agreement has already triggered criticism inside Venezuela. Some opponents argue that granting US interests access to the country’s oil resources violates a long-standing principle that Venezuela’s natural wealth should remain under national control.

Ricardo Hausmann, a former Venezuelan planning minister and Harvard University professor, called the arrangement a “shameful deal” and questioned Rodríguez’s authority to approve it.

Rodríguez rejected those concerns, insisting that Venezuela would maintain ownership and sovereignty over its resources. She said the government wanted to attract major international companies, including Chevron, Repsol and Shell, to expand investment.

The agreement has also divided US lawmakers. Republican supporters described it as a historic economic opportunity, while Democratic senators accused Trump of pursuing Venezuelan oil as a central objective of his policy.

Questions remain over the identity of the private operator, the division of ownership and who will finance the large investments needed to develop Venezuela’s oil fields.

Industry support is also uncertain. Chevron, the only US oil company currently producing oil in Venezuela, declined to comment, while Exxon Mobil also declined to discuss the agreement.

Analysts have warned that damaged infrastructure, political uncertainty and logistical difficulties could make the proposed investment difficult to deliver, despite Venezuela’s enormous oil reserves.