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Line Man Wongnai, an on-demand from prospects meals delivery service in Thailand, is an preliminary public supplying on a Thai alternate or the U.S. in 2025, the corporate’s CEO and co-founder, Yod Chinsupakul, reported in an distinctive interview with TechCrunch.
Line Man Wongnai has however to finalize the place it can begin the IPO, however a dual-listing in Thailand and the U.S. will not be off the enjoying playing cards, Chinsupakul said.
The company is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC Z Holdings, a joint enterprise shaped by SoftBank and South Korean on-line group, Naver and BRV Asia, between many others. It has raised far more than $372 million in full and has a valuation of excess of $1 billion.
“We’re centered on continued firm execution and restructuring as important priorities ahead of the chance IPO, and we’ll keep on to evaluate our cash construction and funding wants, along with numerous fundraising options,” Chinsupakul stated.
The corporate’s differentiators, in accordance with Chinsupakul, are its strategic partnerships with Line, and its data of customer habits, neighborhood retailers, delivery and supply workers and the regulatory pure surroundings.
Wongnai commenced off as a restaurant analysis system in 2010. In 2020, it merged with Line Male, which presents meals and grocery supply, on-demand from prospects ride-hailing, and a messenger utility. Then in 2023, the company acquired Rabbit Line Pay again (RLP), an on line and offline cost platform, and FoodStory, a Thai problem of sale (POS) startup. The company says the acquisitions strengthened its revenues and broadened its shopper base.
The merger with Line Man was a vital milestone for Wongnai, as Line is Thailand’s most typical messaging utility — utilised by further than 90% of Thais, the appliance has about 50 million folks within the place, Chinsupakul stated. What units the startup except for its opponents, in accordance to the CEO, is its capability to leverage Line’s large client base, as fairly a couple of of the app’s consumers choose to make funds by the use of the joined Line funds utility.
At present, the enterprise gives all of the issues from meals and grocery delivery and supply and cafe opinions, to a funds platform, POS for retailers, and experience-hailing — getting on rivals like Seize within the state.
“Our historical past has confirmed that we’re nimble and have the potential to execute strategic M&A. We regularly assess potential expense potentialities in pursuit of our strategic targets, which may contain seemingly monetary funding and/or M&A if it helps our lengthier-term plans. We’re actually open,” Chinsupakul talked about.
The CEO reported the group is intent on rising its POS small enterprise for retailers and the funds firm.
“These two different companies are moderately lesser than our foodstuff supply small enterprise [as we are a latecomer], so we need to improve them several-fold,” Chinsupakul stated. The group will go on to commit in rising its tech staff, particularly on the data and AI side, he included.
Line Man Wongnai faces difficult competitiveness within the meals delivery home in Thailand from Singapore’s Seize and Indonesia’s GoTo, which have their private super purposes and give you e-commerce suppliers, additionally.
Now, GrabFood prospects the foodstuff delivery market in Thailand with a considerable 56% market share, intently adopted by Line Male Wongnai at 53%. Shopee arrives in at No. 3, adopted by Siam Enterprise Financial institution (SBC)’s Robinhood as of April 2023, in accordance to a report by Statista.
Room to develop in Thailand
Chinsupakul identified that the penetration of on the web meals gadgets and grocery provide is lowered in Thailand and there may be sufficient house for progress. In February 2024, the penetration quantity of on-line meals gadgets provide in Thailand stood at 27.14%, when that of grocery provide was at 17.34%.
As for experience-hailing firms, Chinsupakul reported folks in Thailand even now use on-demand taxi firms by way of apps, however the on line-only business might be even greater. Journey-hailing apps’ particular person penetration available in the market is envisioned to attain 19.8% this 12 months, per Statista.
When requested if the corporate goals to grow to be a brilliant utility like Get and GoTo, Chinsupakul defined Line Particular person Wongnai is aiming higher. “An amazing app is for the shopper side solely, however Line Man Wongnai’s services and products are for every buyers and retailers. We’re further of a mixture of Meituan and WeChat Spend.”
The agency want to goal on the Thailand market at this level and isn’t considering rising into different Southeast Asian worldwide areas earlier than heading normal public.
