Nokia, the global mogul in mobile phone, is planning to open a factory in Vietnam in 2012. This announcement was made Wednesday, since Nokia has eyed potential markets in Asia. Nokia has already signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of the communist state of ${bigcity_Hanoi:"Hanoi"}.

The giant mobile company has specifically emphasized the country’s strategic location and developing infrastructure as a perfect venue for its next branch. Nokia stated that one of its goals in setting up a factory in Vietnam is to reach out to the billions of people who do not own a mobile phone or have access to the internet. This is a strategic shift to its key mission of connecting “the next billion users to the internet via mobile users.” According to Nokia Executive Vice-President Esko Aho, only about 30% of the world’s population is connected online.

Nokia wishes to change this by giving, if possible, each and everyone access to a mobile phone and internet connection. Nokia aims to create a strong market in Asia in particular because of its fierce competition against more affordable, imitation models of mobile phones. To date, Nokia has already ten factories in Europe, Latin America, and China, India and Korea in Asia. This is one of the reasons why it is considered the giant when it comes to mobile phones. In its London market, Chief Executive Stephen Elop announced several changes to its system, including changing its Symbian smartphone platform into a Microsoft set up.