Nokia to open Indian plant

Nokia said on Wednesday that it plans to invest in a new plant in India as part of an effort to meet growing demand for mobile devices in the country.

The Finnish handset maker, which holds the number one position in the global market, said that it and its key suppliers may invest as much as $100m to $150m in the factory over the next four years. Nokia noted, however, that a final investment decision will not be made until early next year.

The facility will be Nokia's tenth worldwide and its third in Asia, and it could eventually employ 2,000 workers. Nokia's other Asian facilities are in China and South Korea.

Nokia President Pekka Ala-Pietila, who was visiting India this week, said in a statement: "India's position at the heart of a rapidly growing mobile communications region makes it an attractive option for establishing our new manufacturing facility."

India currently has more than 43 million mobile phone subscribers. The market has been growing at a rate of over 50 per cent in the last few years.

Market researchers also foresee a major boom in India's market for mobile games. According to In-Stat/MDR, the Indian market for mobile games is set to go from the mere $26m expected this year to $336m by 2009. This summer, Nokia debuted its first game device in India (the N-Gage QD).

Nokia is the second high-profile global corporation to announce a venture in India this week. On Tuesday, Microsoft Research said it will set up a laboratory in Bangalore by January.