Line: Surpassing Tencent WeChat to challenge world No.
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The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on July 21 that LINE, a Japanese free chat software company, recently submitted an application for listing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It is expected to obtain listing approval in the fall and will be listed as early as November. The total market value of LINE's shares is believed to exceed 1 trillion yen, and the funds raised through the listing will be used to develop overseas business and develop application software. It is targeting the North American market dominated by WhatsApp, the world's largest instant messaging service company. In order to realize the long-cherished wish of "the world's number one Internet service", LINE is ready to take the challenge. Although the total market value of shares still depends on the market environment at the time of listing, it is very likely to exceed 1 trillion yen based on the comparison between LINE and other global competitors. Judging from the situation of newly listed companies this year, its scale will be comparable to that of Recruit Holdings, a large Japanese information personnel service company. According to relevant sources, LINE also plans to go public in the United States to increase its popularity both in Japan and abroad. The number of users will exceed 500 million "There has been no Internet service developed by an Asian company that has become the world's number one. But I think we can achieve it," LINE President Ryo Morikawa expressed this ambition at an international IT-related conference in early July. LINE was originally called "Hangame Japan" and was established in 2000. The turning point was the free chat software "LINE" (Chinese name: 连我) for smartphones that was launched in 2011. The software gained wide support due to its features that allow users to make free calls and communicate using stickers "STAMP" to express their feelings. In 2013, the company changed its name to LINE, which has the same name as the software. The number of users of the free chat software "LINE" has been increasing. In July 2013, the number of users exceeded 200 million. Since then, the number of users has continued to increase by about 100 million every four months, and the number of users is expected to reach 500 million by the end of July 2014. In particular, there have been great changes in the markets where users are growing. LINE has 52 million users in Japan, and the growth has slowed down. On the contrary, with the exception of Thailand and Indonesia, where the number of users exceeds 20 million, overseas markets such as Spain, India, Taiwan, and Latin America have all shown strong growth momentum. Currently, 90% of LINE users are outside Japan. LINE has almost no competitors in Japan, but the situation is different overseas. LINE Senior Executive Director Jun Masuda said, "No matter which country we enter, we will inevitably face WhatsApp, which is one step ahead." In addition to WhatsApp, the competition with China's Tencent and South Korea's KakaoTalk is also becoming increasingly fierce. The battle for position is also a race against time. For LINE, raising funds through listing will be the most powerful weapon. Once the chat software is promoted, it will be popularized rapidly through mutual introductions by acquaintances, but in the early stage, it will require a lot of promotional expenses such as TV advertising. In India and Southeast Asia, LINE has hired local well-known actors. In Spain, it has cooperated with a well-known football team and launched stickers of famous players. In the future, LINE will use the funds raised from the listing to launch an offensive around the world. "It will become the world's first 'basic project'" and "strive to attract 1 billion users worldwide" are what President Morikawa has repeatedly said recently. His target is WhatsApp, which has an average of 500 million monthly active users. In February, Facebook, the largest social networking site in the United States, announced that it would acquire WhatsApp for about US$19 billion. Therefore, for LINE, this competitor has become even stronger. In order to become the world's number one, LINE needs to seize market share in North America, which is WhatsApp's home base. In North America, in addition to placing a large number of advertisements, LINE is also accelerating the development of services and stickers that suit American culture. LINE plans to use its successful experience in Spain, where the number of users has increased significantly, as a weapon to strive to expand Latin American users in the United States. In addition, China's Tencent is also one of LINE's strong competitors. According to the Nikkei Shimbun, the chat software "WeChat" operated by Tencent has an average of 400 million active users per month. It has an overwhelming market share in China and is also entering Southeast Asia. LINE tried to enter the Chinese market, but according to LINE's Chinese legal person, an unexplained malfunction has occurred in China since early July, and some mobile phones have been unable to log in. There is still a long way to go to achieve popularity in the United States. LINE is accelerating its strategic pace to obtain 1 billion users. The company's business model is to generate revenue from user-oriented advertising, games and stickers first, and to make profits by providing music services in the future. Although it will continue to make upfront investments, it will take shareholders' opinions into consideration after listing. In the first three months of 2014, the sales of the chat software LINE reached 14.6 billion yen, an increase of 3.2 times compared with the same period of the previous year. Sales of games and stickers increased, but due to the expansion of overseas marketing expenses, it is believed that the overall loss was incurred. After talking about LINE's success in a speech in New York in the fall of 2013, President Morikawa wrote in his blog, "There is still a long way to go for popularization in the United States, but I hope to see people using it on the street next time I visit." With the listing as an opportunity, LINE's challenge in the North American market has just begun. As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity. |
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