China Huaxin and Nokia jointly established "Shanghai Nokia Bell"

China Huaxin Post and Telecommunications Economic Development Center (hereinafter referred to as "China Huaxin") and Nokia recently formally signed a final legal agreement, and both parties agreed to integrate Nokia's business in China with Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.

According to the agreement, Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd. will be renamed Shanghai Nokia Bell Co., Ltd., with the English name of Nokia Shanghai Bell. The agreement signed on the 18th is scheduled to be completed in July 2017. The equity ratio of the new joint venture between the Chinese and foreign parties remains unchanged, that is, Nokia holds 50%+1 equity, and the remaining equity is held by China Huaxin.

Shanghai Nokia Bell Co., Ltd. will serve as Nokia's main operating platform in China, developing innovative technologies including IP networks, optical networks, fixed networks and next-generation 5G networks, and continue to explore overseas markets.

Shanghai Nokia Bell Co., Ltd. will make full use of the advantages of both Chinese and foreign shareholders in innovation, global scale, efficiency and deep understanding of the local market to further enhance its industry position. The new company has about 16,000 employees, including more than 10,000 R&D personnel, distributed in six R&D centers in China. These R&D centers will be an important part of Nokia's global R&D system, focusing on 5G, Internet of Things and cloud.

The development of new technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things is accelerating the transformation of the industry. Against this backdrop, Yuan Xin, General Manager of China Huaxin and Chairman of Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd., expressed confidence in the success of the new company. "Through the strong combination in China and around the world, the leading end-to-end network technology and strong innovation drive of both parties are closely combined. We are excited to work with Nokia to build an innovative technology company for the future, which has created a win-win cooperation model for greater success in the new era."

Rajeev Suri, President and CEO of Nokia, believes that the agreement signed that day is of historic significance to Nokia's development in China. "It marks our commitment to the in-depth development of the Chinese market in the next few decades and strengthens China's leadership in the field of next-generation communication technology. The new company will further enhance our innovation capabilities, help us strengthen our close ties with communication service providers, and penetrate into new areas that are growing rapidly and require high-performance networks."