NEW YORK (AP) – The Japanese messaging app Line is set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday and in Tokyo on Friday.
Though little known in the U.S., Line has enjoyed a quick surge to popularity in Japan and has more users than Facebook or Twitter there.
Since its founding five years ago, Line has surged to 218 million active users, even though it’s available only in a handful of countries. It’s not yet clear how well Line might do in Western markets, where Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp are among the most popular messaging options. In addition, Apple and Google are also working on sprucing up their messaging offerings.
Based on this week’s offering, though, there’s strong investor demand for Line.