Reuters Insider - Chat app Line sends message to market
18/07/2014 15:17
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Source: Thomson Reuters
Description: Mammoth Japanese messaging service Line has kicked
off the IPO process, but investor excitement may
have come to the Tokyo Exchange a tad early.
Reuters' Yonggi Kang reports.
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Transcript (May be auto-generated)
There's been months of speculation that Japan's mega messaging app Line would
launch an IPO and now it's official. Line's parent company South Korea's Naver
said on Wednesday that Line had kicked off the listing process with the Tokyo
Stock Exchange. Many outside of Asia may not be familiar with Line but the chat
app has millions of users in Japan, Thailand and even Spain. Now Line's IPO
could value the firm at up to $20 billion. That is great news for Tokyo's
struggling market where some recent big-name IPOs like panel maker Japan Display
have slumped since their market debuts. The IPO news energized some tech shares,
for example Adways, a company that distributes e-books through the Line app,
jumped 13% on Tuesday. But all this hype could easily turn into disappointment.
Why? Line may not even be listed in Tokyo in the end. One source in Tokyo
familiar with the company's strategy said it makes more sense as Line gets 85%
of its business outside of Japan. So even though Line may be one step closer to
listing in its home market, it may be a bit early to bet on the IPO effect