Nokia Cancels Indian Factory Plans

Nokia is understood to have cancelled plans for a manufacturing base in India. The company has written to the government to explain that they need a sales market of at least 20 million handsets per year to justify the investment, however the company sold just 1 million handsets during 2002.

Nokia currently has a license to test market its handsets in India. The license was originally granted in 1997 for two years and was subsequently extended twice thereafter. The current license expires in June this year.

The company is now understood to have contacted the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to request a formal import license to continue shipping handsets into India.

Nokia India recently suffered from an email being circulated in India that claimed their 3310 and 6210 handset were unsafe - an allegation that Nokia naturally denied, saying in a statement, "We take a very serious view of the rumours and allegations which discredit Nokia. We are now investigating the matter and will determine the appropriate action to take with respect to the email."

Posted to the site on 5th May 2003