May 31, 2011
LinkedIn Opens Asia Headquarters in Singapore
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Career networking website LinkedIn opened its Asian headquarters in Singapore on Tuesday, part of a plan to tap the region's large pool of professionals.
LinkedIn plans to hire more than 12 staff in Singapore to add to the company's three offices in India and two in Australia, Asia Pacific Managing Director Arvind Rajan said. The company is also looking at opening an office in Japan this year, Rajan said.
"We're just getting started in Asia," Rajan told reporters.
LinkedIn's stock price doubled during its initial public offering on Wall Street earlier this month, sparking talk of another 1990s-style tech bubble with investors valuing the company at about $9 billion.
LinkedIn stock was issued at $45 on May 19 and shot to as high as $122.70 before closing at $94.25. The company last traded at $88.32 on Friday.
Rajan said he expects "continued, sustained" growth in Asia this year.
The company's users in Asia grew 130 percent in the year ending in March, bringing total members in the region to 18 million out of more than 100 million worldwide.
LinkedIn, which started in 2003, is based in Mountain View, California.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
