Nokia To Make Phones In IndiaNokia To Make Phones In India

MANHASSET, N.Y. — Nokia announced Wednesday (Dec. 1) it will invest $100 million to $150 million in a new plant in India to meet burgeoning demand for mobile devices in the country. Nokia (Espoo, Finland) expects the plant, whose location was not disclosed, to employ 2,000 once full production is reached.

"India's position at the heart of a rapidly growing mobile communications region makes it an attractive option for establishing our new manufacturing facility," said Pekka Ala-Pietil, president of Nokia, during a visit to India where he met with governmental authorities and the media. "The factory would be an integral part of our global manufacturing network and help fulfill growing demand as mobile communications become increasingly affordable and available to more people in this diverse region."

Nokia currently has nine mobile device plants around the world. It already maintains sales, marketing, customer care, and research and development sites in India.

Earlier this week, Intel Corp. and India's BPL announced they would jointly set up a plant, possibly in Palakkad, Kerala, to build GSM and Wi-Fi dual mode mobile handsets.