Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile- phone maker, introduced two lower-priced handsets to grab market share in countries such as India, China and Russia.

Nokia unveiled the 1100, which will go on sale in the fourth quarter, it said in a Hugin statement. It also presented the 2300 phone, which will be available in Asia in the fourth quarter, and in Africa and Europe during next year's first quarter.

The company is turning to markets such as India, where most people still don't own handsets, to make up for slowing growth in Europe and the U.S. Growth in emerging markets will boost the worldwide number of handset users to 2 billion by 2008 from 1.2 billion today, Espoo, Finland-based Nokia said. More than 2.3 billion people live in India and China combined.

``Nokia is probably the only one who can make low-end phones like these profitably,'' said Erkki Vesola, an analyst at Mandatum Stockbrokers with a ``buy'' rating on Nokia. ``In the present situation, it makes perfect sense to address these markets.''

Nokia plans to unveil more than 35 phones this year, a record for the company, to spur demand. Its biggest rival, Motorola Inc. of the U.S., plans to start selling 31 new models in the second half.

Chief Executive Officer Jorma Ollila last month said the push into new markets, coupled with the launch of the Ngage gaming device, may weigh on profit margins in coming months. The operating margin at the handset unit fell to 22.7 percent in the second quarter from 23.5 percent in the prior three months.

Room to Grow

Nokia has forecast global handset sales volumes will grow about 10 percent this year to about 445 million units, with its own handset volumes growing faster than the market. Last year, Nokia sold 152 million handsets.

Shares of Nokia rose as much as 4.9 percent to 14.68 euros, and traded at 14.61 euros as of 4:31 p.m. in Helsinki.

About five in a hundred people own a phone in India, a country with more than 1 billion people. The number of mobile- phone users is surging because of a lack of fixed-line coverage and as call prices fall.

India has 16.3 million users of phones based on the global system for mobile communications, or GSM, technology and 3.2 million subscribers on code division multiple access, or CDMA, networks. The market swelled by 6.7 million users in the four months to July 31 -- more than the 6.5 million users added in all of the previous year.

Russian Economy Expands

In Russia, the number of mobile-phone subscribers will grow to 60 million by 2008 from 28 million today, Ollila said at a press conference in Moscow. The Russian economy is forecast by the Economics Ministry to grow 5.9 percent this year, allowing more people to afford mobile phones.

Nokia is the biggest seller of mobile phones in Russia with a market share of more than 30 percent, spokesman Kari Tuutti said at the briefing.

``In the coming years, these growth markets will be the key drivers'' for global handset demand, Ollila said. Nokia will invest ``billions'' of euros in emerging markets in coming years, he added, without elaborating.

The 2300 model comes equipped with an in-call timer to check the length of a call, allowing users to control their bills easier, Nokia said. It also supports picture messaging, and has an ``SMS counter'' to keep track of the number of text messages sent.

Juha Pinomaa, director of product marketing and business development, said the 2300 phone will be aimed at youths, while the 1100 will be targeted at adults who require only the most basic functions.

While phones such as the 2300 and 1100 typically sell for 130 euros ($142) to 140 euros -- compared with more than 500 euros for high-end models, Pinomaa couldn't say what they'll retail for. Phones are typically cheaper for users because wireless companies subsidize them.

Last Updated: August 27, 2003 10:45 EDT