Thai food delivery startup Line Man Wongnai has started appointing advisors to prepare for an initial public offering (IPO) and is aiming to list as early as 2025, according to a senior executive at the Southeast Asian unicorn.
The company’s preferred listing location is Bangkok, but it is open to a dual listing in another market, such as the United States, if there is enough investor interest, said Chief Financial Officer In Young Chung in an interview with Reuters.
If successful, the IPO would be a significant milestone for startups in the region and a success for chat app operator Line, which is part of SoftBank’s expansive tech empire, in its efforts to support growth businesses in Asia.
Line Man Wongnai, which competes with Singapore-based Grab, was established in 2020 through the merger of Line Man, the Thai food delivery arm of Line, and restaurant aggregator Wongnai.
In July, the company announced its agreement to acquire point-of-sales system startup FoodStory, and it also revealed its plan to acquire a majority stake in payments business Rabbit Line Pay on Thursday.
“We are in a position to really help digitalize Thailand,” said Chung, a former Goldman Sachs banker from South Korea who previously worked for Line, while expressing confidence in the growth of the food delivery industry.
Bangkok’s stock market is considered an attractive listing venue due to its favorable tax regulations, although sentiments have been affected by political uncertainties and broader market fluctuations.
In the past week, two prominent Thai companies, trading group Berli Jucker and industrial conglomerate Siam Cement, decided to postpone their plans for IPOs of their business units, citing unfavorable market conditions.
(This story has been corrected to specify that the company agreed to acquire FoodStory in July, not last month, in paragraph 5)
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
