Nokia recieves record phone order from China

Nokia unveiled the largest order in its history on Friday (May 11) to supply handsets in China in a deal worth $2.5 billion. Analysts say the order represents more than 20 million phones to be delivered to China Postel, China’s largest mobile phone wholesaler. “It is a very important market for us. It was our largest market in 2006 by turnover,” said a Nokia spokeswoman, Eija-Riitta Huovinen. Nokia intends to deepen it’s relations with China Postel which distributed more than 37 million Nokia mobile phones across China since 1998. The Chinese market - the world’s second biggest after the United States—topped 35 percent in late 2006, according to market research firm GfK. Nokia’s lead on the global market over closest rival Motorola grew to its widest in years in the beginning of 2007 as the Finnish firm is benefiting from its early entry into fast-growing emerging markets. Annual handset sales in developing markets have grown more than three times since 2002, compared to just 62 percent growth in developed ones, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, which forecasts that 65 percent of all handsets made this year will be sold in emerging markets. Source