Line Man Wongnai, a Thai technology startup backed by Singapore’s GIC Pte, is considering an initial public offering abroad to tap stronger investor demand and secure a higher valuation.
The operator of food delivery, ride hailing and e-payment services is exploring an IPO in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the US after postponing a domestic share sale, Chief Executive Officer Yod Chinsupakul said. The company expects to make a final decision by the end of June, he said.
Regulators and the bourse in Thailand have rolled out incentives such as relaxed listing rules to keep high-growth firms at home, but a market slump, foreign fund outflows and poor IPO performance have weighed the attractiveness of the Bangkok market.
“There is less appeal in a domestic listing, with the unfavorable macro outlook from a weak economy to unstable politics,” Yod, 43, said in an interview Thursday.
Line Man Wongnai, registered in Singapore, hired banks for an IPO in Thailand in 2025, according to Yod. It has now paused that plan and is assessing the market environment again.

Thailand’s IPO market raised about 13 billion baht ($408 million) last year, the least since 2010, according to the stock exchange’s data. Among Thai companies opting to list elsewhere, cryptocurrency exchange operator Bitkub is considering an offering in the Hong Kong SAR, Bloomberg News reported. Coconut-water maker IFBH Ltd made its debut in the HKSAR in June.
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Line Man Wongnai is moving ahead with plans to raise funds as it intends to boost investment in its fintech unit, Lineman Pay. The company is betting that the rising adoption of online payments will be its key driver of earnings growth, Yod said. The company had a profit for the first time in 2025, he said, without providing details.
Yod founded Wongnai with his college friends in 2010 as a restaurant review platform modeled on Yelp Inc, an idea shaped during his studies in the US, the company website says. In 2020, it merged with Line Man, Line Corp’s delivery service in Thailand.
Line Man had been spun off from a unit of Naver Corp, now a key backer of the combined company. Its major competitors include Grab Holdings Ltd. The company also operates as merchant and restaurant solutions as well as digital payment and cloud service.
Line Man Wongnai raised $265 million in a funding round in 2022, led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Naver, propelling its value to more than $1 billion. The company has about 10 million monthly active users, with 700,000 partnered restaurants.
