Mobile Communications - Nokia to Build a Handset Plant in India
December 02, 2004
Nokia recently announced plans of investing US$100 million to US$150 million over the next four years to set up mobile phone manufacturing facilities in India, its fourth in Asia. Details on the plant's production capacity and locations were not revealed, but the workforce will amount to 2,000 people.
The plant, expected to begin operation at the end of 2005 or early 2006, will be geared to produce a range of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) handsets. Production will be primarily targeted at filling the booming demand in the India market.
This plan also marks Nokia's latest move in ramping up its footprint in India. In June 2004, Nokia already established a CDMA R&D center in Mumbai. Two other centers, focused on telecom networks, are based in Banglore and Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, other major handset vendors also expressed interest in manufacturing mobile phones in India, such as Elcoteq and LG.