Nokia is taking full advantage of the technological battle that has been transpiring between the US and China, veering towards being a top manufacturer of key telecommunications parts instead of the actual handheld devices themselves.
The Finnish company has been a leading manufacturer of components such as cellular antennas, phone switches, internet routers and more importantly, integral parts for next-generation 5G wireless systems. It is bested only by Huawei, which it now has an advantage over given the US's full scale ban of the latter's products given accusations of fraud and espionage.
Nokia has fully exploited its position as the next best alternative, pushing the anti-espionage, anti-China agenda that the US has currently adopted. In fact, Nokia chief executive Rajeev Suri recently stated, that without secure 5G systems, "essential trade secrets will fall with those networks: airplane innovations, pharmaceutical formulas, electric-car schematics."
There is thus a clear push towards marketing Nokia as a transparent and secure company.
Not only this, but also, Nokia has been trying to appease the Chinese by launching a joint venture with a state-owned Chinese business through which the company has employed 17000 people in the Greater China region. For context, that is three times the number of employees it has in its native HQ at Finland.
"We want to be a friend of China," Mr. Suri said in an interview at Nokia headquarters. Moreover, Suri himself serves on the Chinese premier's overseas CEO council, which is privy to government decisions in the domain of business and is able to advise key officials on important business-related matters.
In order to counter this burgeoning rapport, Washington officials have allegedly tried to tie up with Helsinki to establish a "one-stop-shop financing package" to foreign buyers of telecom equipment from non-Chinese companies, including Nokia.
Another sign that Nokia has been revamping its position is that it may come out with a new phone soon, in multiple models. New FCC certification shows that new phones with the model numbers TA-1188, 1183 and TA-1184 have been listed.
Not only this, but also, Nokia's latest earnings report shows that it has outperformed fiscal expectations, with figures up to 7.1%. Moreover, Nokia has reorganized the entire earnings report itself to better reflect its goals, organizational structure and operational performance, further indicating that it is better positioned to take on future challenges and appease investors. This may also be interpreted as a means by which to boost investor confidence to raise capital for future projects, affirming that the company has big plans.