The South Korean messaging service, Line, is hoping to raise 3 billion US dollars in an IPO, in order to increase investment in new services. The company is set to be dual listed in New York and Tokyo. Said to be vital if Line wishes to increase advertising revenue, the money raised will likely be put towards things such as mobile payment services or the acquisition of new technologies. Whilst the company relies heavily on its successful in-app games or digital stickers, analyst Ahn-Jae-Min of NH Investment, said that “they are now focused on expanding advertisement”. Efforts from competitors, like Facebook or Tencent, to include a variety of services within a messaging app, look to be what Line is putting itself up against. However, to be able to competitively rival Facebook's 1 billion WhatsApp users, or Tencent's 650 million WeChat users, Line will have to increase on its 218 million users of which two-thirds are from just Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.Â
