Finland looks to future after Microsoft buy Nokia, the former star of the cellphone world, has seen its light further dimmed by the news that Microsoft is acquiring its handset operations.
"This is naturally a big day of change in Finland's industrial history," Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said in Helsinki after Microsoft's 5.44 billion ($9.2 billion) deal was announced.
"Every now and then, there comes a time when one has to re-evaluate things to get ahead in corporate life and the society," he said. "I want to believe that this is the beginning of a new era [for Nokia]."
A source of national pride, Finland's Nokia had led the cellphone industry for more than a decade, reaching a peak of 40 per cent market share in 2008.
After 14 years as market leader, and providing a significant boost to the Finnish economy, Nokia failed to meet the smartphone challenge of Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system and its dominance began to fade.