Nokia and India

This is summary of ://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2007/gb20070831_914354.htm?chan=globalbiz_asia+index+page_top+stories .

CEO of Nokia since May 2006 and earlier President and COO of Nokia, Mr. Kallasvuo, was on 3 days tour of India last month August 2007.


India, after China and ahead of USA, is 2nd largest market of Nokia. Nokia has a 70% share in Indian mobile handset market.

Nokia Siemens Networks has received, last month, a contract of INR 3000 million (300 crore) from Aircell, controlled by Maxis, to build and operate GSM network in Kolkata. It has also received an order of US$ 500 million from Idea Cellular.

Nokia employs 9000 people in India, has a manufacturing facility in Chennai, and has announced to locate its global headquarters of Nokia Siemens Networks service unit in India.

Incidentally, in China, Chengdu R&D Center is going to be one of the biggest R&D center of Nokia Siemens Networks worldwide by 2008 year end. Chengdu is 4th largest city in China.


Nokia N-series and E-series, mid-tier and high-end devices, generate 1/4 of Nokia's sales in India. There is a big replacement and upgrading market. Therefore Nokia CEO thinks that India can not be classified as an emerging market or an entry market where just low-end phones are sold.


In both China and India, distribution challenges are bigger. Building distribution to get to the rural market is a challenge. Nokia is seeing similar things happening in Africa from mobile-handset market point of view which it saw in India some 5-6 years ago. Nokia learned to build distribution in markets where one has to really build it oneself.