LINE eyes joint venture in China

[THE INVESTOR] China is the only Northeast Asian nation where LINE Corp. has yet to launch its mobile messenger service so far. 

Line is the mobile messenger service operator owned by Naver (chairman Lee Hae-jin)

In a recent media interview, LINE’s chief global officer Shin Jung-ho said the firm could consider “setting up a joint venture with a Chinese company” to increase its foothold in a country where its services are blocked due to government regulations. 

“Joining hands with a Chinese firm to establish a joint venture to tap into the Chinese market is one of many options to launch its mobile messenger service in earnest in China,“ said LINE publicist Kim Hyun-ji, regarding the interview.

Some market watchers said Shin’s comments were aimed to address market concerns over the lack of a Chinese presence for the Tokyo-based firm. 

LINE is the world’s seventh largest mobile messenger service with more than 218 million users. The majority of the users are located in Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

On July 14, and July 15, LINE listed its stock on the New York Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange, respectively.

The company issued 22 million shares with an offer price of $32.84 in New York and 13 million shares with an offer price of 3,300 Japanese yen ($31.32).

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com">wone0102@heraldcorp.com)