Japan`s government said on Wedneseday it would investigate messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp`s Z Holdings Corp, after Japanese media reports that it let Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate access Japanese users` data without informing them.

Under Japanese privacy regulations, companies have to let users know when their personal data is sent overseas, public broadcaster pubic broadcaster NHK and other local media reported earlier.

"We can`t say yet if Line breached regulations or not, and we are conducting an investigation to find out," a government official responsible for overseeing privacy regulations told Reuters. If Line is found to have acted improperly then the Cabinet Office can direct it to make improvements, he added.

"There hasn`t been anything that breached legal or regulatory boundaries," a spokesman for Line said." We will continue to respond to laws and regulations in all jurisdictions, including Japan."

In a statement posted later on its website, the company apologized for causing any concern and for not adequately explaining policies regarding data management to users.

No inappropriate access occurred, it added.

Four engineers at a company in China, who perform system maintenance for Line, were allowed to access servers in Japan from 2018 that contained the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of users, local media said.

The reports come as Japan tightens laws and regulation around the use and storage of personal data held by internet companies.

Line, which has 186 million users worldwide - of which just under half are in Japan - has since blocked access to user data at the Chinese affiliate, the company spokesman said.

Line this month became part of Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, creating a $30 billion domestic internet heavyweight to compete against local and U.S. rivals.

Messages sent via Line can only be read by the sender and receiver as the app, like other messaging apps, encrypts message content end to end.

Z Holdings is controlled by SoftBank Corp through holding company A Holdings, which is jointly owned by SoftBank Corp and South Korea`s Naver Corp, the former operator of Line.

Z Holdings, which plans to invest 500 billion yen ($4.58 billion) in technology over the next five years, announced the Line tie-up last year but was forced to delay the move from October because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Line has expanded its business into cashless payment and more recently telemedicine.

Shares of Z Holdings, which also controls fashion retailer Zozo Inc and office supplies firm Askul Corp, dipped 1.1% to 611 yen, compared with the Tokyo exchange`s TOPIX index which was flat.

Japan`s government said on Wedneseday it would investigate messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp`s Z Holdings Corp, after Japanese media reports that it let Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate access Japanese users` data without informing them.

Japan`s government said on Wedneseday it would investigate messaging app Line, owned by SoftBank Corp`s Z Holdings Corp, after Japanese media reports that it let Chinese engineers at a Shanghai affiliate access Japanese users` data without informing them. Under Japanese privacy regulations, companies have to let users know when their personal data is sent overseas, public broadcaster pubic broadcaster NHK and other local media reported earlier. "We can`t say yet if Line breached regulations or not, and we are conducting an investigation to find out," a government official responsible for overseeing privacy regulations told Reuters. If Line is found to have acted improperly then the Cabinet Office can direct it to make improvements, he added. "There hasn`t been anything that breached legal or regulatory boundaries," a spokesman for Line said." We will continue to respond to laws and regulations in all jurisdictions, including Japan." In a statement posted later on its website, the company apologized for causing any concern and for not adequately explaining policies regarding data management to users. No inappropriate access occurred, it added. Four engineers at a company in China, who perform system maintenance for Line, were allowed to access servers in Japan from 2018 that contained the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of users, local media said. The reports come as Japan tightens laws and regulation around the use and storage of personal data held by internet companies. Line, which has 186 million users worldwide - of which just under half are in Japan - has since blocked access to user data at the Chinese affiliate, the company spokesman said. Line this month became part of Z Holdings, formerly Yahoo Japan, creating a $30 billion domestic internet heavyweight to compete against local and U.S. rivals. Messages sent via Line can only be read by the sender and receiver as the app, like other messaging apps, encrypts message content end to end. Z Holdings is controlled by SoftBank Corp through holding company A Holdings, which is jointly owned by SoftBank Corp and South Korea`s Naver Corp, the former operator of Line. Z Holdings, which plans to invest 500 billion yen ($4.58 billion) in technology over the next five years, announced the Line tie-up last year but was forced to delay the move from October because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Line has expanded its business into cashless payment and more recently telemedicine. Shares of Z Holdings, which also controls fashion retailer Zozo Inc and office supplies firm Askul Corp, dipped 1.1% to 611 yen, compared with the Tokyo exchange`s TOPIX index which was flat.

Japan to probe Line let after reports it let Chinese engineers access user data

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/taiwan-conducts-military-exercise-amid-tensions-with-china-142795">Taiwan</a>&nbsp;is ramping up efforts ahead of a January 11&nbsp;election&nbsp;to combat fake news and disinformation that the government says China is bombarding the island with to undermine its democracy.

But&nbsp;Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which favours close ties with China, is crying foul, accusing the ruling <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-interfering-in-election-every-day-taiwan-president-tsai-ing-wen-263144">Democratic Progressive Party</a> (DPP) of running its own disinformation campaign, saying the threat is closer to home.

Taiwan's rambunctious democracy has long been deeply polarised and partisan.

Accusations of dirty-doings, denials and counter-denials are part and parcel of political life on the island, played out on its many cable news channels and online, mostly on Facebook, messaging app Line and the&nbsp;Taiwan-focused bulletin board PTT.

Fake news and disinformation campaigns are a problem governments around the world are trying to tackle. US&nbsp;President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/donald-trumps-attitude-towards-india-unpredictable-unreliable-238560">Donald Trump</a> has repeatedly lambasted US&nbsp;media for what he says is its "fake news" about him and his administration.

Taiwan, which holds presidential and legislative&nbsp;elections on January 11, says it is particularly vulnerable to influence-peddling by its giant, autocratic neighbour China, which claims&nbsp;Taiwan&nbsp;as its own territory, to be brought under Beijing's rule by force if need be.

"Taiwan&nbsp;is a democratic, open society. They are using our freedom and openness, bringing in news that is not beneficial to the government," Chiu Chui-cheng, deputy head of&nbsp;Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, told Reuters, referring to China.

"They are seeking to confuse the perception of people. It's a perception war," he said. "Mainland China uses organisations in&nbsp;Taiwan&nbsp;to help disseminate fake news."

But the Kuomintang and its presidential candidate, Han Kuo-yu, lagging in the polls behind President Tsai Ing-wen, say voters should focus on what the ruling party is doing to muddy the waters, and should stop trying to "smear them red" a reference to the colours of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/in-pics-china-communist-partys-xi-event-begins-499">China's Communist Party</a>.

"Have a look on the internet, isn't about more than 90 percent of online news attacks against Han Kuo-yu?" Han's campaign spokeswoman, Anne Wang, told Reuters.

She said almost nobody on the PTT bulletin board supported the Kuomintang, which undermined ruling party complaints of Beijing's interference on behalf of the opposition party.

"If mainland China wants to support the Kuomintang, how can that be the result?" she asked.

"Is their (China's) fake news cyber army too weak? Have they failed? Or is the cyber army in service of the DPP more powerful and ferocious?"

The suicide of&nbsp;Taiwan's consul general in the Japanese city of Osaka last year, following fake reports he had not done enough to help&nbsp;Taiwanese stranded by a typhoon, has been seized upon by the Kuomintang, after Taipei prosecutors this month filed charges against one of the people accused of spreading the reports, a prominent DPP member.

Kuomintang legislator Lai Shyh-bao said it was ironic that Tsai blamed DPP losses in mayoral&nbsp;elections last year on fake news.

"Now we know that she is the commander of all the fake news," Lai said.

The DPP says it had nothing to do with the consul general's death.

"Fake news is encroaching on&nbsp;Taiwan's democracy, splitting apart&nbsp;Taiwan's people. Everyone needs to be on guard," DPP spokeswoman Lee Yen-jong said.

Fact-checking groups say people are being bombarded with fake news and have set up websites and chat rooms, and held seminars, to help people identify it.

Government task forces have been mandated to "bust rumours" while a security agency has launched a "special mission" to crack down on suspected fake news from China to influence votes, according to an official with knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified.

"Fake news destroys trust between people," said Johnson Liang, founder of the group Cofacts.

"When the trust between people has been lost, you won't trust that politicians will do things beneficial to you, neither will you believe that representatives will speak up for you."

China denies seeking to interfere in&nbsp;Taiwan's&nbsp;election.

Its policy-making&nbsp;Taiwan&nbsp;Affairs Office said it was "<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mesut-ozil-deceived-by-fake-news-will-be-pleased-to-see-him-go-to-xinjiang-china-268547">fake news</a>" to suggest that it was trying to meddle.

"Every time there is a&nbsp;Taiwan&nbsp;regional&nbsp;election, various fake news is 'created' to make rumours about and smear the mainland," the office said in a statement to Reuters.

The DPP reacted angrily to pictures on social media supposedly showing its deputy secretary-general, Lin Fei-fan, dining with self-professed&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;spy Wang Liqiang.

Wang has described in Australian media how he worked with China's Communist Party to meddle in&nbsp;Taiwan. China says he is a convicted fraudster. The Kuomintang also says they have serious doubts about his claims.

The DPP says the person identified in the picture as Li is an assistant to a Hong Kong legislator and blamed "China-friendly forces" for the "fake message".

Internet companies have moved to tackle fake news as the&nbsp;elections approach. <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/facebook-shares-fall-over-possible-us-antitrust-move-268567">Facebook</a> has vowed to step up efforts to counter disinformation and "state-backed influence operations". Line Corp has teamed up with several advocacy groups to help users verify information.

Facebook last week removed more than 200 accounts, pages and groups to help "protect the integrity of&nbsp;Taiwan's&nbsp;elections".

Taiwan&nbsp;FactCheck Centre, which is collaborating with Line, said it had seen a sharp increase in political messages on the platform since September.

"We're overwhelmed," said Summer Chen, the group's chief editor.

"There are a lot of rumours before the&nbsp;elections. They are spreading faster and mobilising hatred," she told Reuters, referring to rumours she believed were coming from China.

Taiwan is ramping up efforts ahead of a January 11 election to combat fake news and disinformation that the government says China is bombarding the island with to undermine its democracy.

Taiwan is ramping up efforts ahead of a January 11 election to combat fake news and disinformation that the government says China is bombarding the island with to undermine its democracy. But Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which favours close ties with China, is crying foul, accusing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of running its own disinformation campaign, saying the threat is closer to home. Taiwan's rambunctious democracy has long been deeply polarised and partisan. Accusations of dirty-doings, denials and counter-denials are part and parcel of political life on the island, played out on its many cable news channels and online, mostly on Facebook, messaging app Line and the Taiwan-focused bulletin board PTT. Fake news and disinformation campaigns are a problem governments around the world are trying to tackle. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lambasted US media for what he says is its "fake news" about him and his administration. Taiwan, which holds presidential and legislative elections on January 11, says it is particularly vulnerable to influence-peddling by its giant, autocratic neighbour China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under Beijing's rule by force if need be. "Taiwan is a democratic, open society. They are using our freedom and openness, bringing in news that is not beneficial to the government," Chiu Chui-cheng, deputy head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, told Reuters, referring to China. "They are seeking to confuse the perception of people. It's a perception war," he said. "Mainland China uses organisations in Taiwan to help disseminate fake news." But the Kuomintang and its presidential candidate, Han Kuo-yu, lagging in the polls behind President Tsai Ing-wen, say voters should focus on what the ruling party is doing to muddy the waters, and should stop trying to "smear them red" a reference to the colours of China's Communist Party. "Have a look on the internet, isn't about more than 90 percent of online news attacks against Han Kuo-yu?" Han's campaign spokeswoman, Anne Wang, told Reuters. She said almost nobody on the PTT bulletin board supported the Kuomintang, which undermined ruling party complaints of Beijing's interference on behalf of the opposition party. "If mainland China wants to support the Kuomintang, how can that be the result?" she asked. "Is their (China's) fake news cyber army too weak? Have they failed? Or is the cyber army in service of the DPP more powerful and ferocious?" The suicide of Taiwan's consul general in the Japanese city of Osaka last year, following fake reports he had not done enough to help Taiwanese stranded by a typhoon, has been seized upon by the Kuomintang, after Taipei prosecutors this month filed charges against one of the people accused of spreading the reports, a prominent DPP member. Kuomintang legislator Lai Shyh-bao said it was ironic that Tsai blamed DPP losses in mayoral elections last year on fake news. "Now we know that she is the commander of all the fake news," Lai said. The DPP says it had nothing to do with the consul general's death. "Fake news is encroaching on Taiwan's democracy, splitting apart Taiwan's people. Everyone needs to be on guard," DPP spokeswoman Lee Yen-jong said. Fact-checking groups say people are being bombarded with fake news and have set up websites and chat rooms, and held seminars, to help people identify it. Government task forces have been mandated to "bust rumours" while a security agency has launched a "special mission" to crack down on suspected fake news from China to influence votes, according to an official with knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified. "Fake news destroys trust between people," said Johnson Liang, founder of the group Cofacts. "When the trust between people has been lost, you won't trust that politicians will do things beneficial to you, neither will you believe that representatives will speak up for you." China denies seeking to interfere in Taiwan's election. Its policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office said it was "fake news" to suggest that it was trying to meddle. "Every time there is a Taiwan regional election, various fake news is 'created' to make rumours about and smear the mainland," the office said in a statement to Reuters. The DPP reacted angrily to pictures on social media supposedly showing its deputy secretary-general, Lin Fei-fan, dining with self-professed Chinese spy Wang Liqiang. Wang has described in Australian media how he worked with China's Communist Party to meddle in Taiwan. China says he is a convicted fraudster. The Kuomintang also says they have serious doubts about his claims. The DPP says the person identified in the picture as Li is an assistant to a Hong Kong legislator and blamed "China-friendly forces" for the "fake message". Internet companies have moved to tackle fake news as the elections approach. Facebook has vowed to step up efforts to counter disinformation and "state-backed influence operations". Line Corp has teamed up with several advocacy groups to help users verify information. Facebook last week removed more than 200 accounts, pages and groups to help "protect the integrity of Taiwan's elections". Taiwan FactCheck Centre, which is collaborating with Line, said it had seen a sharp increase in political messages on the platform since September. "We're overwhelmed," said Summer Chen, the group's chief editor. "There are a lot of rumours before the elections. They are spreading faster and mobilising hatred," she told Reuters, referring to rumours she believed were coming from China.

Chinese 'rumours' and 'cyber armies': Taiwan fights election 'fake news'

Japan's&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;Corp&nbsp;plans to merge internet unit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/yahoo-japan-bids-for-control-of-fashion-e-tailer-zozo-for-37-billion-249306">Yahoo&nbsp;Japan</a>&nbsp;with messaging app operator&nbsp;Line&nbsp;Corp&nbsp;to&nbsp;create&nbsp;a $30&nbsp;billion&nbsp;tech&nbsp;giant, as it strives better compete to with local rival Rakuten and US&nbsp;tech&nbsp;powerhouses.

The deal, which would combine the providers of two of&nbsp;Japan's top QR code payment services, offers&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;access to 164 million&nbsp;Line&nbsp;users and their data in&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;and Southeast Asia as it expands into services outside its core wireless business.

It also offers&nbsp;Line&nbsp;a deep-pocket patron who can offer its&nbsp;tech&nbsp;expertise, including potentially via the&nbsp;giant&nbsp;Vision Fund.

The deal comes as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/softbank-backed-oyo-to-raise-15-billion-led-by-founder-other-existing-investors-254242">SoftBank&nbsp;Group</a> founder Masayoshi Son battles to restore his reputation after a disastrous investment in office-sharing firm WeWork.

Telecoms firm&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;Corp&nbsp;said in a statement that&nbsp;Yahoo&nbsp;Japan, which last month changed its name to Z Holdings&nbsp;Corp, would aim to complete its&nbsp;merger&nbsp;with&nbsp;Line, owned by South Korea's Naver&nbsp;Corp, in October 2020.

The companies plan to reach a definitive agreement by next month in a transaction that would see&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;Corp&nbsp;and Naver form a 50:50 venture that would control Z Holdings, which in turn would operate&nbsp;Yahoo&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;and&nbsp;Line.

SoftBank&nbsp;Corp&nbsp;and Naver, which owns 73 per cent&nbsp;of money-losing&nbsp;Line, plan to launch a tender offer for&nbsp;Line's remaining shares at 5,200 yen each - a 13.4 per cent&nbsp;premium to the shares' price before news of the&nbsp;merger&nbsp;broke. That values&nbsp;Line&nbsp;at about $12&nbsp;billion.

Line's shares closed up 2.2 per cent&nbsp;at 5,150 yen after the announcement. Shares in Z Holdings rose 1.2 per cent, with Naver's shares up 2.9 per cent&nbsp;and&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;Corp's down 0.3 per cent.

Line&nbsp;has been looking for growth through expansion into areas such as QR code payments with&nbsp;Line&nbsp;Pay, but has been squeezed because of its limited funds and heavy-spending peers including&nbsp;SoftBank, which has a rival service called PayPay.

The&nbsp;merger&nbsp;of&nbsp;Japan's most popular messaging app and one of the country's top online&nbsp;retailers is the latest consolidation in its&nbsp;tech&nbsp;industry, and comes as Rakuten is expanding into&nbsp;SoftBank's core business with the launch of mobile services.

SoftBank&nbsp;this month completed its acquisition of online&nbsp;fashion retailer Zozo Inc, whose founder and ex-Chief Executive Yusaku Maezawa sold down his stake following a series of missteps.

The&nbsp;merger&nbsp;is driven by the two companies' "sense of crisis" over the rise of&nbsp;tech&nbsp;giants from the US&nbsp;and China,&nbsp;Line&nbsp;CEO Takeshi Idezawa told a news conference, wearing a tie in&nbsp;Yahoo&nbsp;Japan's red&nbsp;corporate colour.

SoftBank&nbsp;Group's Son frequently laments&nbsp;Japan's tardiness in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, with Monday's presentation showing even after combining the company's research and development budget would be dwarfed by overseas rivals.

Yahoo&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;CEO Kentaro Kawabe, who was wearing a tie in&nbsp;Line's&nbsp;corporate green, declined to comment on which services would be combined or abolished post-merger.

Line&nbsp;launched to overcome downed networks in the aftermath of a 2011 earthquake and tsunami before building a strong following with its use of colourful emojis, eventually listing in 2016.

However, the messaging service struggled to make inroads in countries dominated by apps like <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nso-snoop-row-how-pegasus-broke-into-whatsapp-260055">Facebook's Whatapp</a> and eventually retrenched in its core markets of&nbsp;Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Coming at a time of heightened political tension between&nbsp;Japan&nbsp;and South Korea, the&nbsp;merger&nbsp;might be the two countries' most significant economic cooperation of the last decade, Jaewoong Lee, a South Korean serial entrepreneur and founder of Naver rival Daum wrote on his Facebook page late on Sunday.

Z Holdings will continue to be a consolidated subsidiary of&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;Corp, which is a unit of investment conglomerate&nbsp;SoftBank&nbsp;Group&nbsp;Corp.

SoftBank&nbsp;retained Mizuho Securities, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, as its financial advisor. Naver retained Deutsche Bank.

Japan's SoftBank Corp plans to merge internet unit Yahoo Japan with messaging app operator Line Corp to create a $30 billion tech giant, as it strives better compete to with local rival Rakuten and US tech powerhouses.

Japan's SoftBank Corp plans to merge internet unit Yahoo Japan with messaging app operator Line Corp to create a $30 billion tech giant, as it strives better compete to with local rival Rakuten and US tech powerhouses. The deal, which would combine the providers of two of Japan's top QR code payment services, offers SoftBank access to 164 million Line users and their data in Japan and Southeast Asia as it expands into services outside its core wireless business. It also offers Line a deep-pocket patron who can offer its tech expertise, including potentially via the giant Vision Fund. The deal comes as SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son battles to restore his reputation after a disastrous investment in office-sharing firm WeWork. Telecoms firm SoftBank Corp said in a statement that Yahoo Japan, which last month changed its name to Z Holdings Corp, would aim to complete its merger with Line, owned by South Korea's Naver Corp, in October 2020. The companies plan to reach a definitive agreement by next month in a transaction that would see SoftBank Corp and Naver form a 50:50 venture that would control Z Holdings, which in turn would operate Yahoo Japan and Line. SoftBank Corp and Naver, which owns 73 per cent of money-losing Line, plan to launch a tender offer for Line's remaining shares at 5,200 yen each - a 13.4 per cent premium to the shares' price before news of the merger broke. That values Line at about $12 billion. Line's shares closed up 2.2 per cent at 5,150 yen after the announcement. Shares in Z Holdings rose 1.2 per cent, with Naver's shares up 2.9 per cent and SoftBank Corp's down 0.3 per cent. Line has been looking for growth through expansion into areas such as QR code payments with Line Pay, but has been squeezed because of its limited funds and heavy-spending peers including SoftBank, which has a rival service called PayPay. The merger of Japan's most popular messaging app and one of the country's top online retailers is the latest consolidation in its tech industry, and comes as Rakuten is expanding into SoftBank's core business with the launch of mobile services. SoftBank this month completed its acquisition of online fashion retailer Zozo Inc, whose founder and ex-Chief Executive Yusaku Maezawa sold down his stake following a series of missteps. The merger is driven by the two companies' "sense of crisis" over the rise of tech giants from the US and China, Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa told a news conference, wearing a tie in Yahoo Japan's red corporate colour. SoftBank Group's Son frequently laments Japan's tardiness in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, with Monday's presentation showing even after combining the company's research and development budget would be dwarfed by overseas rivals. Yahoo Japan CEO Kentaro Kawabe, who was wearing a tie in Line's corporate green, declined to comment on which services would be combined or abolished post-merger. Line launched to overcome downed networks in the aftermath of a 2011 earthquake and tsunami before building a strong following with its use of colourful emojis, eventually listing in 2016. However, the messaging service struggled to make inroads in countries dominated by apps like Facebook's Whatapp and eventually retrenched in its core markets of Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. Coming at a time of heightened political tension between Japan and South Korea, the merger might be the two countries' most significant economic cooperation of the last decade, Jaewoong Lee, a South Korean serial entrepreneur and founder of Naver rival Daum wrote on his Facebook page late on Sunday. Z Holdings will continue to be a consolidated subsidiary of SoftBank Corp, which is a unit of investment conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. SoftBank retained Mizuho Securities, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, as its financial advisor. Naver retained Deutsche Bank.

SoftBank to create $30 billion tech giant with Yahoo Japan, Line Corp merger

Japanese messaging app operator Line Corporation&nbsp;plans to list shares worth as much as $1.05 billion in Tokyo and New York next month&nbsp;in what would be Japan&#39;s biggest initial public offering (IPO) this year.

The Tokyo-based firm&nbsp;will sell 13 million new shares in Japan and 22 million shares overseas for an indicative price of 2,800 Yen each.

That will value the entire company at 588 billion Yen ($5.5 billion).

Line is currently 100 per cent owned by South Korea&#39;s largest web portal operator, Naver Corp, which may offer as many as 5.25 million existing shares in the event of excessive demand.

Altogether, as many as 40.25 million shares will be sold, valuing the IPO at as much as 112.7 billion Yen.

Line said it plans to use the proceeds for strategic investments, including global mergers and acquisitions, and to repay debt.

Line launched its messaging app in 2011 under the name NHN Japan as a communication tool prompted by the chaotic aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March that year. It rebranded to Line in 2013.

Its IPO would be the largest in Japan since the $12 billion partial privatisation of Japan Post and its bank and insurance divisions in November.

Line has hired Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Nomura to manage the IPO.

The South-Korean owned company's move will be Japan's largest IPO this year

Japanese messaging app operator Line Corporation plans to list shares worth as much as $1.05 billion in Tokyo and New York next month in what would be Japan's biggest initial public offering (IPO) this year. The Tokyo-based firm will sell 13 million new shares in Japan and 22 million shares overseas for an indicative price of 2,800 Yen each. That will value the entire company at 588 billion Yen ($5.5 billion). Line is currently 100 per cent owned by South Korea's largest web portal operator, Naver Corp, which may offer as many as 5.25 million existing shares in the event of excessive demand. Altogether, as many as 40.25 million shares will be sold, valuing the IPO at as much as 112.7 billion Yen. Line said it plans to use the proceeds for strategic investments, including global mergers and acquisitions, and to repay debt. Line launched its messaging app in 2011 under the name NHN Japan as a communication tool prompted by the chaotic aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March that year. It rebranded to Line in 2013. Its IPO would be the largest in Japan since the $12 billion partial privatisation of Japan Post and its bank and insurance divisions in November. Line has hired Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Nomura to manage the IPO.

Japanese messaging app Line to list shares for $1.05 billion