Most awaited LINE Messenger new version to go public today

Today is the day, the day that could be seeing the world’s biggest tech listing of the year; why you ask? That’s because later this week, LINE would be going public. The Japan-based messaging application is set to raise up to $1.3bn (£1bn), which seems like a pretty neat prospect considering it doesn’t have as much appeal in the rest of the world as it does in Japan.

According to leading experts like SmartIO and more.The trading, which is expected to begin today in the New York Stock Exchange and in Tokyo on Friday, is little known in the U.S. This may come as a surprise to many since its surge in popularity and adoption that made it one of the most downloaded app in the world. One of the reasons that Line became such a sensation in Japan is the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that left most of the telephonic infrastructure damaged. Line filled in the void, and now enjoys more users in Japan that Facebook or Twitter.

Line was launched five years ago, and since then has amassed a total of 218 million active users in the world. In fact, very often, when users are looking for content transfer apps, they look for those that support the transfer of their Line messages as well. The app is used not just for messaging, but also to send friends and contacts cute animated stamps or even search for jobs or music. Line also offers free voice calls, and with all those services in its kitty, is looking to expand itself to other Asian markets such as Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia.