Nokia tips India as second-largest market

India is set to become the second largest market for Nokia by 2008 the company said Monday.

In an interview with The Hindu newspaper, Nokia’s CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said that the Finish manufacturer was making marked progress in the emerging region and that he believed Nokia was well ahead of its rivals there.

Nokia is, according to the report, sharpening its focus on the Indian market with a wide range of strategies designed to meet the market’s precise needs. Saying that Nokia is well respected as a quality firm, Olli-Pekka said: “We shall be very difficult to beat in this market.”

The report says that Nokia is planning an entire marketing push specifically designed for the Indian market “Made in India, Made for India” is, according to Olli-Pekka, what the company will be looking to bring to the region. Phones will be mainly made in the region by Nokia for the domestic market, the firm said.