Line is a privately owned company headquartered in Japan, with LY Corporation as its parent company. Established in 2000, it employs approximately 4,100 individuals, specializing in software development. The company operates a communications platform, primarily serving as a messenger service in Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. Beyond its core functionality of free instant messaging and VoIP calls, the platform integrates social media, mobile payments via LINE Pay, news aggregation through LINE TODAY, and specialized services such as LINE Doctor and LINE Music. As of 2026, LINE functions as a central lifestyle ecosystem for over 200 million monthly active users, leveraging its character IP (LINE FRIENDS) and an extensive API for businesses to provide an experience that bridges personal communication and daily transactions.
SoftBank Group Corp. announced on August 28, 2026, a change in the completion timing for its consolidated subsidiary LY Corporation's additional acquisition of shares in LINE MAN CORPORATION PTE. LTD. Previously, on August 13, LY Corporation raised its year-end dividend guidance for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027, to ¥11.00 per share, an increase from ¥7.30 paid a year earlier. This decision signals management’s confidence in the company’s cash generation and intent to prioritize shareholder payouts. This follows projections on the same day that Japan's digital advertising market is expected to grow, with Dentsu forecasting an 8.3% year-over-year jump to 3.6 trillion Japanese yen in 2026, building on digital advertising crossing the 50.2% mark of total advertising spend in 2025. Earlier, on August 12, Line BK, one of Thailand's digital banking platforms, maintained its cautious approach, continuing to develop data analytics capabilities for borrower identification since launching services in October 2020.
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