Nokia Corp. announced it will expand its research-and-development efforts in China, a move that comes amid doubts about Nokia’s ability to maintain its grip on the market as well as moves by the company’s rivals to capture Nokia’s dwindling share.
“China is definitely a strategic part of Nokia’s global R&D network,” said Jorma Ollila, Nokia’s chairman and chief executive officer. “With increasing depth in China’s talent base and an improving regulatory environment for R&D, we see excellent opportunities to expand our collaboration with leading domestic institutions. This cooperation will boost technology innovation and localization, enabling us to strengthen our R&D in key areas and respond to Chinese customer needs.”
Nokia said it will establish five new R&D units in China employing more than 600 people, including a CDMA R&D facility in Beijing. The company said it expects that 40 percent of its mobile phones will be designed and developed in the new Beijing Product Creation Center.
Nokia is China’s No. 1 mobile-phone maker with 15.6 percent of the market, according to Credit Suisse First Boston. However, the company faces massive competition from Motorola and local vendors.
