Thai food delivery app Line Man Wongnai plans to IPO in Thailand and the US in 2025

Line Man Wongnai, Thailand’s leading on-demand food delivery app, is considering going public (IPO) in Thailand or the US in 2025, according to CEO and co-founder Yod Chinsupakul in an interview. Exclusively with Techlade.

Photo source: Line Man Wongnai

There has been no final decision on the exchange, but the possibility of dual listing in both Thailand and the US is still being considered. The company is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund (GIC), Z Holdings (a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver Korea), BRV Asia and other funds. Line Man Wongnai has raised a total of more than US$372 million and is valued at more than US$1 billion.

Mr. Chinsupakul said the company’s strengths are its strategic partnership with Line and its deep understanding of customer behavior, local suppliers, delivery teams and the regulatory environment.

Wongnai started as a restaurant review platform in 2010. In 2020, they merged with Line Man, providing food delivery, grocery, ride-hailing, and texting services. Then in 2023, the company acquired Rabbit Line Pay (RLP), an online and offline payment platform, and FoodStory , a Thai point-of-sale (POS) solutions startup. These acquisitions help increase revenue and expand customer base.

The merger with Line Man is an important milestone for Wongnai, as Line is Thailand’s most popular messaging app – used by more than 90% of Thais, with more than 50 million users. According to the CEO, the company’s advantage is to leverage Line’s huge user base, as many users choose to pay through the linked Line Payments app.

Currently, the company offers everything from food delivery, grocery and restaurant review services to payment platforms, POS for commerce and ride-hailing – competing with rivals such as Grab in Thailand.

Mr. Chinsupakul added, “Our operating history shows that we are agile and capable of executing strategic M&A deals. We always evaluate potential investment opportunities to pursue our strategic goals, could include potential investment and/or M&A if supporting long-term goals.

The CEO said the company intends to develop POS segments for businesses and payment services. “These two businesses are relatively smaller than the food delivery segment (because we are a latecomer), so we want to grow many times over,” Mr. Chinsupakul said. The company will continue to invest in developing its technical team, especially in data and AI.

Line Man Wongnai faces stiff competition in Thailand’s food delivery sector from Singapore’s GrabFood and Indonesia’s GoTo, which have their own super apps and also offer e-commerce services.

Currently, GrabFood leads the food delivery market in Thailand with 56% market share, followed by Line Man Wongnai with 53%. Shopee ranked third, followed by Siam Commercial Bank’s Robinhood as of April 2023, according to a Statista report .

Mr. Chinsupakul pointed out that the penetration rate of online food and grocery delivery services in Thailand is still low and there is plenty of room for growth. As of February 2024, the penetration rate of online food delivery in Thailand was 27.14%, while grocery delivery was 17.34%.

As for ride-hailing services, Mr. Chinsupakul said Thai people still use on-demand taxi services via apps, but the online-only market could be larger. According to Statista, the ride-hailing app user penetration rate is expected to reach 19.8% this year.

Mr. Chinsupakul also mentioned the ride-hailing service. Although many Thais are still used to calling taxis via apps, the online ride-hailing market is expected to expand further (expected to reach 19.8% of users this year according to Statista).

Notably, Line Man Wongnai does not aim to become a “super app” like GrabFood or GoTo but has higher ambitions. Mr. Chinsupakul said the “super app” only focuses on users, while Line Man Wongnai provides services to both customers and store owners. This app is more like a combination of Meituan (Chinese delivery platform) and WeChat Pay (Chinese e-wallet).

Currently, Line Man Wongnai focuses on the Thai market and has no plans to expand to other Southeast Asian countries before going public.