Line Corp Seeks Rp108tn Proceeds from Dual Listing
27 May 2015 14:58 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Japan's instant messaging provider and operator Line Corp. is gearing up to hold two initial public offerings (IPO) in Tokyo and New York. The Japan Times reported that the company is seeking more than ¥1 million (Rp108 trillion) from the dual listing.
The Tokyo-based company plans to hold the offerings in September, with Morgan Stanley and Nomura Holdings Inc. as underwriters.
In the first quarter of 2015, Line recorded the highest user growth with 57 percent, beating rivals like Snapchat, WeChat and WhatsApp. In April, the app has 205 million users with over half active users living in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia.
Sales in the quarter surged 70 percent to ¥28.1 billion, year-on-year.
The app was first developed to support the rescue efforts and emergency response of Japanese citizens during the 2011 Tohaku earthquake and tsunami where phone lines and poles were heavily damaged. Some employees of Naver, Line's current holding company, then created an instant messaging system to allow Japanese people to communicate through the Internet using mobile data connection.
FERY FIRMANSYAH