Line Launches First R&D Unit in Thailand

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By Jacob Maslow

Line Corporation has launched its first research and development unit for mobile service applications in Thailand. The unit is the first in the country and the company’s first outside of Japan.

Under the new facility, the Thai operating unit will be able to develop new services and mobile apps to meet the demand of local customers. Because of Thailand’s strong engineering and technical skills, the country is the ideal pick for the facilities.

Line Thailand is in the process of recruiting new staff for its development team. The company plans to roll out its new mobile app service in the early part of 2016.

In addition, the company may also launch an open API (application programming interface) to provide developers with programmatic access to its proprietary software. With an open API, application programs can easily connect with Line’s platform.

Thailand is Line’s second-largest user base, with 33 million users and 83% of the country’s mobile internet users. Thailand has approximately 40 million mobile Internet users compared to 35 million desktop Internet users.

The 4G wireless broadband service will offer quicker communication speeds, encourage development of new mobile app services, and broaden business opportunities for the company. Line generates revenue via games, stickers, additional content for TV streaming, and music. It also has an e-commerce marketplace, mobile payment services and a business-to-business marketing service.

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