Stephen Elop says the Middle East is key for Nokia. Jaime Puebla / The National
Stephen Elop says the Middle East is key for Nokia. Jaime Puebla / The National

Nokia takes on competition to build its regional strength



The Middle East remains a strong market for Nokia, despite tough global competition.

The Finnish company - which suffered a loss of €1.07 billion (Dh5.15bn) in its last financial quarter - says its position in the Arab world is relatively strong compared with other markets.

"The Middle East and Africa is an area where we have, relative to other regions, a stronger position market share-wise," said Stephen Elop, the global president and chief executive of Nokia.

The company is the world's number one manufacturer of mobile phones, having shipped 113.5 million units during the quarter, down 8.2 per cent from a year earlier.

However, the manufacturer is facing tough competition in the lucrative smartphone sector. Its share of that market stands at 12 per cent, having declined from 28 per cent in 2010, according to IDC.

Mr Elop - speaking in Dubai on his second visit to the UAE since becoming the head of Nokia in 2010 - said the Middle East region is key in boosting the company's market share.

"It is one of our stronger regions, for sure," he said. "It's a region where we hope to take advantage of the goodwill we have with consumers, the familiarity with the Nokia brand."

Mr Elop said UAE consumers replaced their mobile phones relatively frequently - presenting an opportunity for the likes of Nokia.

"With a faster churn rate, we have an opportunity to have more conversations with the consumer about what their next device should be," he said.

Nokia last year announced an alliance with Microsoft under which it will incorporate the Windows Phone operating system into its high-end smartphones.

Nokia unveiled its first handsets running on Windows Phone late last year, but Mr Elop said he was not yet ready to specify launch dates for Middle Eastern countries.

twitter: Follow our breaking business news and retweet to your followers. Follow us

match details

Wales v Hungary

Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A