Pass Line valuation of nearly 10 billion US dollars

Sources disclosed that Japan, Japan's most popular mobile messaging service operator Line, has submitted its initial public offering (IPO) application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Line, which is controlled by South Korea's Naver, plans to hire Nomura as IPO lead underwriter. The sources said the IPO's Tokyo-based Line valuation may exceed 1 trillion yen (about 9.8 billion US dollars). As the information is not yet available, these individuals require anonymity. One person also revealed that the company's planned listing in the United States will follow the Tokyo IPO.

Last month there was news that Line is in talks with Nomura and Morgan Stanley to start the market as soon as November, considering going public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the NYSE or NASDAQ. Line began implementing IPO plans after Japanese e-commerce Lotte acquired Viber Media and Facebook for $ 19 billion to acquire WhatsApp, a messaging service.

Bloomberg data show that Japan's IPO market raised 6.7 billion US dollars this year, a decrease of 1.2 billion over the same period in 2013. In Seoul, shares of Naver rose 2.4% to 827,000 won, its biggest gain since June 26. (Wood Xiulin)