Japanese mesaging app Line eyes doubling Indian user base to 20 mn by year-end

Japanese messaging application provider Line aims to double its user base in India to 20 million by this year-end and had roped in Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif to endorse the brand.

Line, which started its India operations in July this year, claims to have a subscriber base of 10 million registered users, according to the report.

In addition to free messaging, it also offers free voice calls, video and audio file sharing and stickers.

Line Corporation CEO Akira Morikawa said that the focus this year was on increasing the number of users.

He added the company was confident of crossing the 20 million-mark before this year-end.

He said Line was also working on introducing newer services like e-commerce and music through its platform, but declined to offer any further information.

The company which was launched in 2011, counts 230 million users globally, with Japan accounting for 20 per cent of its userbase.

The company has a presence across 55 countries and has other big markets in Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Spain.

Its revenues were up at ¥9.77 billion ($100.2 million) in second quarter of 2013 from 0.3 billion yen in April-June 2012 quarter.

According to Morikawa, the company had already invested about ¥1 billion (Rs62.98 crore) in India on various campaigns and setting up base Mumbai.

He added the company was in discussions for partnerships with telecom operators and handset makers for its service.

He added the company had not experienced the kind of growth in any other country to date like it had in India, where the company would continue to focus.

With a tie-up with Sony India, Line would come pre-installed on Sony Xperia Z1 and Xperia C smartphones, while Sonly Music Entertainment would open official accounts on Line.

China's Tencent also launched its application 'WeChat' in India last year, and besides WeChat other popular applications include the likes of Whatsapp, Viber, Nimbuzz and BBM.