Line hasn’t found much success here in the West, which is why it might seem odd that the company decided to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange before listing itself on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but it makes sense when you think about it. Line’s messaging app completely dominates the Japanese market, and has a large presence in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, but it can’t expand into China or South Korea because those two markets are already dominated by their own native apps. In order to continue growing its userbase, Line needs to expand into Western markets, which is why the company decided to list itself on an American stock market, as well as a Japanese one. All in all, the company raised more than $1.1 billion from the dual listing, which makes it this year’s biggest tech IPO so far.
