Nokia announced its selection of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) as the location for its Nokia China Campus. The campus will consist of their China headquarters, R&D centers, and mobile phone manufacturing base. Attendees of the ground breaking ceremony included Jorma Ollila, Chairman and CEO of Nokia, as well as officials from the Central government, the Beijing government, Beijing's Economic-Technological Development Area and other Nokia partners. 
The Nokia China Campus will be the new headquarters for Nokia's activities in the Greater China Area. It will create a world class campus that, at its opening in the later part of 2007, will host over 1500 of Nokia's talented staff from R&D, sales and marketing operations, pre-production, logistics, sourcing and manufacturing operations. Eventually, more than 2000 Nokia employees will be based in this new hub. "We are proud to be the first multinational company to build their China headquarters in the BDA area.
" Mr. Ollila said during his speech, "For us it will integrate all parts of our operations in one location, providing unique opportunities for exchange of information and ideas, as well as for very effective operations across all of Nokia and with our partners. For Xingwang Park and BDA it means the kick-off of a new phase of development, going from being a primarily manufacturing based area to being a true world class end-to-end business park - a business park that over time will potentially rival the reputations of the world famous high-tech business parks of the world."
Nokia announced the grand opening of its first Nokia Flagship Store in Asia. Located in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay area, the Nokia Flagship Store is prominently positioned in one of the most prestigious shopping districts in Hong Kong. In addition to showcasing the complete portfolio of Nokia products and services, the Flagship Store allows customers to fully experience cutting-edge mobile technology in a comfortable, stylish and interactive environment.
The first Nokia Flagship store was opened in the Moscow in December 2005. Nokia aims to open 18 Nokia Flagship Stores in high-traffic urban settings in major markets worldwide. "Hong Kong is a perfect window for Nokia to showcase the flagship store concept in Asia.
It allows us to offer unique mobile experiences and inspirations for our customers in the region," said Colin Giles, Senior Vice President, Customers and Markets Operation, China Area. "Nokia is committed to pushing the boundaries of the retail landscape." Each Flagship Store is distinctively crafted and enhanced by state-of-the-art multimedia displays.
These displays offer a highly interactive and intuitive medium to walk guests through the features and benefits of a wide range of Nokia products. It can even allow customers to send text messages for display on Nokia Flagship Store locations around the world
The Nokia Flagship Stores will form the top end of Nokia's newly revised retail strategy that includes retail and operator partners and their more than 300,000 retail outlets globally.
All of these customer outlets will remain essential to Nokia's ongoing success and continue to be the main sales channels in the future. The feedback and learnings received through the Flagship stores will be shared and implemented with Nokia's retail and operator partners.
"With a mobile subscription rate of over 125%, consumers in Hong Kong are highly sophisticated and are looking beyond standalone devices for a converged mobile experience. The Nokia Flagship Store features various 'experience counters' in areas including music,
imaging, connectivity and business solutions, allowing customers to experience the many benefits of mobility and digital convergence for themselves," said Bruce Lam, General Manager for Customers, Market and Operations, Mobile Phones, Nokia Hong Kong.
