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''' TECHNOLOGY -
*APP-APP*- EXPANSION '''
WHEN A GREAT APP -LIKE !WOW! -BEGINS wriggling to expand once again, this new form, this new state, may best be refereed to as App-App.
So it is with- LINE, as it sends a very real growth message to Europe and the United States, as the Japan group sets its peripheral research sight on !WOW! and a $ 3 billion summer IPO to power investment in new services.
STUDENTS : Merium, Rabo, Dee, Haleema, Saima, Sarah,Aqsa, Sameen, Paras, Talat, Sorat, Malala [Nobel Prize], Areesha, Armeen, Nayab, Eman, Hannyia, Merium, Maynah, Shahbano, Sanyia- Sumaiya Akhter, Dusyarn Tini, and all her class mates/ Malaysia.
Ghazi, Hammad, Reza, Hussain, Ali, Haider, Faizan, Hasaan, Shahzaib Khan, Salar Khan, Bilal Malik, Mustafa, Ibrahim, Vishnu, Jordan, Danyial Rahym, Majeed, Umer, Noel, Toby, Zaeem, Hamza, Hazeem, Sannan to......... MAKE A NOTE, and take notice.
LINE, which has created a popular franchise based on its emoticons and moving digital stickers, has initially, also struggled to penetrate the US and European markets, leading to a recent shift in focus-
Towards Asia's four core markets. And its regional strategy has paid off with Line grabbing top market share in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. Analysts say that Line's expansion policy is highly focused and deeply researched.
In the mini sequel, a high-school couple -played by the same cast who are now in their 30s -is reunited using a Japanese messaging app called LINE.
The successful marketing campaign in Indonesia is characteristic of the strategy the app has pursued to export its popularity at home to other parts of Asia. unlike Facebook-
Whose services are most standardised across the world. Line's features are customised to the local culture.
As the company prepares to launch an initial public offering this summer, analysts say the business strategy that has underpinned its growth could prove to be a double edged sword.
Line is very good at creating and insulating services that are attached to the messaging app. All their services are very local and entrenched in culture,'' says Neha Dharta, a senior analyst Ovum, a consultancy.
''While Asian players are locally entrenched, Facebook will have a set of services that are not attached to any particular culture so they will be able to achieve much faster growth''.
The competition between Line, Ten cent owned WeChat and Facebook which owns WhatsApp-
With more than 1 billion monthly active users, and Facebook Messenger -centres on an effort to create one-stop-shop where users can send messages, make payments and transact with businesses within the confines of a mobile app..
WeChat, with 650 million monthly active users, has already created a huge ecosystem in China and Line has done much of the same in the home market.
Facebook is ramping up its efforts, forming a tie-up with the car hailing app Uber that allows Facebook Messenger's 500 million monthly users to order a ride without leaving the chat app.
Line, owned by Naver, South Korea's biggest Internet Portal operator, is aiming to raise about $3 billion in a dual Tokyo-New York listing set up for July, according to people involved in the deal.
Analysts expect the money raised will be used to boost investment in new services such as mobile payments which analysts say will be vital for Line to lift advertising revenues.
The funds will also be used for acquisitions of new technologies and to poach talent from rivals, according to one of the people involved in the initial public offering.
Last year, advertising comprised nearly a third of annual sales totalling Yen 120.7 billion [$1.1 billion].
The company's cash-cow business is now games and digital stickers, says Abu-Jae Min, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, but it is focused on expanding advertising.
But while Facebook can tap into the vast database from its social-media network to target users, Line's pool is much smaller at 218 million of monthly active users. Moreover- Two-thirds of them are from Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia.
A Seoul based analyst, who declined to be named says Line's IPO is well-timed since its efforts to expand advertising revenues are still too early for investors to judge.
''There is high uncertainty for the growth potential for Line and its users and it is unclear whether Line's ad business will be successful or not. NAVER will try to list Line before investors recognise the real numbers,'' analysts said. Naver declined to comment.
''Line is among the few players that has been focusing on revenues since the early days. the company is very strategic, smart and sound when they approach a particular market launch a new service,'' says Ms. Dharia.
By embedding itself in the market, it also raises the barrier for rivals. The strategy, analysts say, is important for Line and WeChat to guard their market share as Facebook and WhatsApp aim to expand their foothold in Asia.
A person close to Line says his decision to list its shares in New York as well as Tokyo is a message to investors of its desire to capture growth opportunities in the west.
''Once you take the number-one position in Asia, we will aim to be the world's number one,'' Takeshi Idezawa, Line's chief executive said.
With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the World. See Ya all on !WOW! -the World Students Society and !E-WOW! -the Ecosystem 2011:
''' The Backyard '''
Good Night and God Bless
SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless
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