Finnish mobile giant Nokia has announced that it will build a 3G equipment factory in China, the only one of its kind away from home soil.

The decision came after Nokia won a contract to supply W-CDMA 3G equipment to a Taiwanese telecom corporation.

The facility will be built in east China's city of Suzhou, where the company already has a large 3G research and development center.

The race to supply 3G network equipment to the Chinese Market has become increasingly intense in recent times.

German Manufacture Siemens has pledged to spend US$30 million on expanding its existing 3G facilities in Shanghai, while Canadian vendor Nortel has signed a deal with a Chinese company to jointly research, develop and manufacture 3G products.

(CRI September 7, 2004)