MUMBAI: Mobile giant Nokia has set aside funds of $150 million to open offices of its venture division Nokia Growth Partners in China and India.

The division launched in 2004 with $100 million, and the company says it is interested in companies involved with mobile applications, location-based services (LBS), mobile advertising and music and entertainment - a broad spectrum that covers most of the areas attracting attention in mobile technology and the mobile web.

According to VentureWire, Nokia Corp.'s chief financial officer Rick Simonson said that the fund plans to make eight to 10 investments for the next three or four years, with a typical investment amounting to between $6 million and $8 million. Nokia's particularly interested in companies that can help lower-end phones - which are taking off in emerging markets like China and India - evolve, he said. Nokia Growth Partners has hired someone from Finland to open its India office, and has also hired two investors in China.

The firm's previous investments include web video startup Kyte and VivoTech, a company that lets you make credit card payments using a radio frequency ID chip in your phone. Nokia Growth Partners focuses on later-stage funding, but Nokia has also invested in early-stage venture firms, including BlueRun Ventures and the Founders Fund.