OOPS! Doing Business in China II
NOKIA FOCUSES ON LOCALISATION
IN CHINA
BEIJING, Jun 24, 1999 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) --
Nokia, one of the most well-known foreign companies
in China, has invested US$800 million into Chinese
telecom market and set records since it opened the
first office in Beijing in 1985.
In 1998 alone, the Finnish company signed many GSM
network expansion contracts with local telecom
operators of Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Henan,
Ningxia and Hong Kong, and succeeded in putting on
market a series of new mobile phone products such as
Model 6110, 5110, 6150 and 8810.
As one of the first 18 telecom equipment suppliers
obtaining the network access licenses issued by the
Ministry of Information Industry, Nokia, together with
Motorola and Ericcson, has clinched a 90% share on
China's mobile phone market.
The key to success in China lies in localization, said
Nigel Litchfield, vice president of the Asia-Pacific
Division of Nokia Mobile Phone Co., Ltd.
The localization is mainly reflected in three aspects
such as R&D, production and personnel training.
Nokia has established a powerful global research and
development center in Beijing, aimed at applying the
latest technology in the development of products and
solutions best suited to the Chinese market.
It has worked out Chinese language user interface,
Chinese language short message, and Chinese language
input technology.
The company has recently signed another
memorandum with MII, promising joint effort in R&D
of the second- and third-generation telecommunication
technology.
The centre will devote greater efforts to R&D of
network management, Internet technology, access
network technology and Chinese language user
interface this year, while recruiting 60 more research
fellows on the basis of current 40. Besides, it will
cooperate with related organs of China to give global
projects advises.
According to Litchfield, Nokia has built seven
production bases in the country.
These production bases are capable of mass-producing
a complete set of GSM system equipment ranging
from base stations, base station controllers, mobile
switching centers, to the state-of-the-art digital cellular
systems and terminal products.
They also produce access equipment, digital
exchanges, digital transmission equipment for fixed
phone network.
Among the seven production bases, the Beijing Nokia
Mobile Communication Co., Ltd., Guangdong
Dongguan Nokia Mobile Phone Co., Ltd. and Nokia
(Suzhou) Telecom Co., Ltd. now have localized the
production of SMD and CKD. The Beijing Nokia
Mobile Communication Co., Ltd. has ranked among
the largest Sino-foreign joint ventures in the country.
To date, a full range of major Nokia products and the
majority of products sold on the domestic market can
be produced in China, with the quality reaching or
outstripping the international standards.
These products have won a series of international
certificates.
Nokia will strive to localize the production of all the
products to be sold domestically by the end of this
year, while continuing to expand its investment in
China, said Nigel Litchfield.
What's more, the company will raise the proportion of
local procurement.
In co-operation with Chinese suppliers, it will purchase
home-made equipment not only for its joint ventures in
the country but also for its subsidiaries worldwide.
Nokia has set up more than 20 representative offices,
five system user service centers and 70 special mobile
phone repair centers in China.It has a labor force of
more than 3,000 in the country, of which, 90%-plus
are local employees.
By the end of this year, the company will authorize
another 30 special repair centres and open 500 special
mobile phone shops.
In the meantime, a college funded by Nokia was set up
in China earlier this year.
John G |
