KakaoTalk is looking to expand its presence in Asia, and its expansion plan appears to be working quite well; between January and February, the company recorded a staggering 288 percent growth in users for Indonesia alone. The company has targeted Indonesia due to the increased adoption of smartphones and the high rate of social interaction in the area according to TechinAsia.
Of course, KakaoTalk isn’t without its competition, particularly where LINE is concerned. LINE is currently Indonesia’s top VoIP and messaging app and is in the midst of an aggressive marketing campaign in the country. KakaoTalk is looking to “embrace grass root users first” and launch its own campaign in the area and will be playing to its own strengths such as exclusive and localized features in order to overtake the competition. Starting this month, KakaoTalk has also partnered with Indonesian carrier XL Axiata for carrier billing, similar to what Skype has done in Russia, Canada, and the United States.
LINE users in Indonesia have grown in number by about three times over the past three months, though actual numbers for the region are not currently available.