Invest in Spain

Marieta de Rivero, CEO Nokia

1. What has Nokia’s presence in the Spanish market meant in terms of the company’s global strategy?

Spain is clearly a key player in Nokia’s global strategy. It is the eighth world market in terms of revenues out of the 130 countries where the company operates (turnover of 1.139 billion euros in 2006) and we are very proud of this fact.

Moreover, Spain serves as a model for other countries where we operate, but we are conscious of the fact that we still have a long way to go and that there are still many areas for improvement. It is a very exciting time for us.

2. How does the Spanish market differ from other markets?

In terms of the maturity of the mobile communications markets, we could say that we are at the forefront in Europe. As of 2007 we have 50 million mobile lines, which is above the European average, and 9.5 million UMTS network users.

However, Spain still has a long way to go in innovation and technological competitiveness. The latest European Innovation Scoreboard, published by the European Commission in February 2007, puts Spain in the fourth group (out of four) in terms of innovation drivers, which encompasses a wide range of indicators, such as education, IT expenditure, R&D investment or number of patents.

3. What is your view of the ICT sector in Spain?

We are at the stage now where the telecommunications sector and technology can, and I would go so far as to say should, tackle major challenges, starting at this point and continuing over the next few years. I am basing this on the fact that, even though Spain is in the top ten world economies, it does not hold the position is should in terms of technology and innovation.

Greater efforts need to be made in this area and that is why I think that the private and public sectors should work together to make Spain a truly technological country and what I mean by this is that Spain needs to adopt new technologies as a natural process, as part of the way of life of all citizens.

At Nokia we are optimistic about the future, because we firmly believe that Spain has the potential and talent needed to place us at the cutting edge of new technology adoption.

4. What measures could the government implement to attract foreign capital to the sector?
I think that any measure that enables or simplifies foreign companies’ entrance into the Spanish market would be welcomed by those considering Spain as a potential investment destination.

On the hand, these measures could help to tip the balance in Spain’s favor, to the detriment of other countries.

5. Do Government measures to promote ICT use help to make the Spanish business fabric more competitive?
Of course, any measure that governments and institutions implement to promote the adoption and use of new technologies by citizens and businesses has a direct impact, thus increasing competitiveness in the sector.

This is why at Nokia we believe it is crucial to increase investment in R&D (at both public and private levels). Our company philosophy is clear in this respect: all industry players must continue to provide society with the tools that enable our country to play a major role in today’s economic arena.

6. What challenges will you have to face over the next few years with regard to mobility and the development of Information Technologies?
Mobility is a daily reality for all Spaniards today, in their professional lives and in their personal lives, and mobile phones are an integral part of our lives and we would find it very hard to live without them.

Moreover, mobile terminals are replacing other commonly used devices such as cameras, PCs, music players... and we foresee that in the near future mobile phones will be the channel through which to purchase services, share experiences and develop communities.

In pursuit of this goal we have to ensure we provide consumers with the best quality user experience and all the market players (manufacturers, operators, advertisers, contents providers, etc.) need to work together to achieve this.

Our main challenge will be to enthuse users and companies, familiarize people with technology, connecting people with their ideas, with their passions, with their people. This is what we call Human Technology at Nokia; making technology part of our everyday lives, an extension of ourselves, which helps us in our tasks and enables us to get closer to the things we want or need.

7. What are the growth prospects at Nokia? And for the Spanish market?

As a national and global market leader, Nokia needs to continue exploring new avenues. In 2006 revenues reached a record high, in the corporation and in Spain, where the turnover was up 26% on 2005.

In this favorable business climate, our objectives are ambitious: growing in terms of market share or turnover is difficult, but we will work hard to increase our units sold. Our strategy will be the same as it has been for some years: working closely with our customers and listening to consumer needs.

From the business point of view of our company, Nokia has started to bet strongly on services, with Ovi as the backbone of our strategy. Through this new web services portal users can access social networks, games, music and the Internet as well as buy, test and share an array of leisure and professional services.

First there was cinema, then television and more recently the PC, now we have a “fourth screen”, the mobile phone, which has become the channel through which people interact with the rest of the world.