As the Financial Times put it: ‘Nolan knows more about Chinese companies and their international competition than anyone else on earth, including in China’. Excerpts from his recent interview to The Hindu:
Have Chinese and Indian firms reached the point where they can truly project themselves onto the global stage?
In a short answer, no, at least mostly no. The most remarkable thing, of the last ten years, is the fact that Nokia has not been killed by a Chinese or Indian company. It’s been brought down by two American firms — Apple and Google. Now just think about that for a second. Once you become a world leader like Nokia, it isn’t that easy to be brought down.
Ten years ago, everybody was talking about how even though low-income countries like India might not be able to catch up in terms of manufacturing, they would win the race in terms of high-tech and other forms of consumer electronics and technology. That hasn’t happened now and I don’t think it is likely to happen. There is something about the ecology of high-income countries such as the U.S. that allow them to dominate in this space.
