2 with 900 million.Line is the world's seventh largest mobile messenger service with more than 218 million users. WhatsApp leads the pack with about 1 billion MAUs, while Facebook Messenger is No. The company’s revenue and other operating income rose about 28.3 per cent to 120.88 billion yen in 2015.Line reported a loss of 7.97 billion yen in 2015, compared with a year-earlier profit of 2 billion yen.Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Nomura are among the underwriters to the IPO. The majority of the users are located in Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.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.The bulk of Line’s revenue comes from games and sales of emojis and electronic stickers.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 15, 2016 08:48 UTC