Line messaging app sets up development fund for mobile games

Line has announced plans to invest 10 billion yen ($97.5 million) in a new mobile game development fund, as the Japan-based social messaging service firm seeks to bolster its gaming sector and expand its overseas business. The company said it has established Line Ventures to run the new gaming fund Line Game Global Gateway. The new fund will allow Japanese mobile game developers to receive financial assistance in developing mobile games. Line's corporate parent is South Korean online portal operator Naver Corp. The company is in the process of filing an IPO in the Tokyo and New York stock exchanges, and is looking to expand its services to include more than just messaging. Line, which claims to have more than 400 million registered users in Japan and other parts of Asia, lets users make free calls, send instant messages and post photos or short videos. It combines attributes from Facebook, Skype and WhatsApp. About 88 percent of Japanese smartphone owners use messaging apps including Line, according to a survey by the Communications and Information network Association of Japan. With inputs from Reuters