Nokia phones Made in India at a plant near the South Indian city of Chennai are being exported to 58 countries.

In the 18 months upto July 2007, Nokia’s Indian plant has turned out 60 million phones.

Buoyed by the success of its Indian operations, Nokia is looking to make the Indian plant an export hub. 

Nokia’s Indian operations have overtaken the U.S. in sales to become the company’s second biggest market after China.

With a population of 1.2 billion people and a strong economy, it’s no surprise that cell phone usage is growing by leaps and bounds in India.

And nobody seems better poised than the global mobile phone leader Nokia to capitalize on the opportunities.

Nokia’s India factory located at Sriperumbudur employs 4700 people, 70 percent of them women.

Nokia executives said the Nokia Telecom Park had received an investment of $500 million with seven global component manufacturers likely to generate in excess of 30,000 jobs when fully functional.
 
Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka  Kallasvuo said:

India hosts a comprehensive Nokia R&D, Manufacturing and Design presence. Moreover, we are also the country’s leading provider of wireless infrastructure through Nokia Siemens Network, the newly merged entity. This not only reiterates our commitment and belief in the market but also underscores India’s emergence as a strategic resource hub for Nokia globally.

Nokia Siemens Networks has committed to investing $100 million in Continue Reading…

Two bomb blasts killed 40 people and injured over 80 on Saturday evening at the Lumbini amusement park and a food stall in the Kothi area in the South Indian city of Hyderabad, capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The blasts are said to have occured around 7:40PM local time within minutes of each other.

The first blast hit an open-air auditorium in the Lumbini park during a laser show about the history of the city and the second occurred at a food stall called Gokul Chaat.

Police found 19 unexploded bombs in different areas of the city including the Venkatagiri Theater and Musarram Bagh.

The state government suspects the involvement of Islamic militants from neighbors Pakistan or Bangladesh in the blasts.

This is the second major blast in Hyderabad. On May 18, 2007, Continue Reading…

To the list of Chinese pet food, Chinese toys, Chinese furniture, Chinese laptops, Chinese this and Chinese that, American consumers will soon add Chinese cars.

Chinese car maker Chery is expected to hit the American market by 2009 and will surely kill what’s left of the struggling U.S. auto industry.

You see, Chery workers in Anhui, China earn slightly more than $1 an hour. So, how can any American car manufacturer even dream of competing against Chery or other Chinese car makers assuming they offer a decent quality car?

American auto workers can kiss their jobs and nice health benefits goodbye.

Oh, by the way Chrysler (now in private equity hands) will be selling the Chery cars in the U.S.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s reporters drove Chery’s A1 car across Xinjiang in China.

And for the most part, the WSJ reporters were happy with the Chery A1 car.

Gordon Fairclough writes in today’s WSJ (subscription required):

In all, we traveled more than 1,700 miles — in city traffic, on highways and even up and down steep hills off-road in the desert — and the A1 performed admirably. For a small car, the ride was surprisingly smooth and quiet, even at high speeds.

European car companies are also embracing Continue Reading…