Nokia gets into a joint venture with HCL

BANGALORE, INDIA: Nokia Corporation, a provider of mobile communication devices, as part of its services strategy in India, today announced that it is planning to set up a joint venture with HCL Infosystems, a provider in ICT, networking and storage solutions.

The criteria of this join venture is to sell mobile value added services and entertainment content directly to consumers in India, said a press release.

“An important part of our future distribution strategies in India is that we want to ensure that our value added services and entertainment offerings are readily available to all consumers.” said D. Shivakumar, VP and managing director, Nokia India.

He further added, “This arrangement is a natural continuation of our long-term collaboration with HCL in India.”

The joint venture is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to take off later this year.

Once the requisite approvals have been received, the joint venture will be primarily engaged in selling value added services for mobile devices said the release.

Commenting on the partnership, Ajai Chowdhry, founder, chairman and CEO of HCL Infosystems said, “We are excited about this opportunity as we believe it brings further value to our customers and Indian consumers in general by offering seamless mobile value added services and entertainment content.”

Nokia has announced its Internet services strategy globally under the consumer brand name ‘Ovi’ with specialized offerings in music, navigation, games and livelihood enhancing services for the semi-urban and rural population in the form of Nokia Life Tools, the release added.