The loan will be used to finance extensive research and development program of Nokia that is focused on 5G activities in Europe in 2018-2020
Finnish telecommunication, information technology and consumer electronics company, Nokia, signed a loan transaction of US$ 283 million (250 million Euro) with international financial institution Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) for funding its research and development activities with regards to 5G technology.
This would bring the overall amount of publicly announced 5G funding by Nokia to US$ 851 million.
“The loan will be used to finance extensive research and development program of Nokia that is focused on 5G activities in Europe in 2018-2020, the company said in a statement.
The investment will be aimed at creating new end-to-end product and services offerings related to 5G for different business areas, it said.
The research and development program of Nokia also focuses on implementing the Internet of Things (IoT).
Numerous business opportunities in 5G
Henrik Normann, President and CEO NIB, said, “The business opportunities of 5G are numerous, as it will be the first mobile generation designed from the beginning for machine-type communication. Nokia’s research and development is likely to benefit not just the telecom sector, but also several high-technology operators in our member countries.”
Kristian Pullola, CFO, Nokia, said, “This financing will further support 5G research and development in Europe and it bolsters the momentum we have already seen this year as the era of 5G begins.”
Nokia, in its earnings results for third quarter this year, said that it is expecting to spend around US$ 113 million to US$ 227 million for temporary incremental expenses on 5G-related customer trials this year 2018.
The company also stated that the order backlog in its networks business was robust at the end of third quarter, while added that it continues to expect that the deployments of commercial 5G network to start at the end of 2018.
In addition, Finnish multinational has undertaken some measures for corporate restructuring in the past few months to strengthen its position amongst the rivals such as Ericsson, Samsung, ZTE and Huawei, in the 5G contract bids.
