Shein is in talks to raise up to $3bn in a move that would lead to the Chinese fast-fashion group accepting a vastly reduced valuation of $64bn, down more than a third from its peak following a downturn that has led investors to re-evaluate frothy tech start-up valuations.

The internet retailer is seeking to close a new fundraising round from existing investors including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, venture capital group Sequoia China and private equity group General Atlantic, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.

The three investors were also involved in Shein’s last fundraising round in April, which valued the group at just above $100bn. That made it the world’s third most-valuable private company at the time, behind TikTok parent ByteDance and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Only two years ago, the company was valued at $15bn.