#Pakistan Business Council warns accession to the World Trade Organization’s (#WTO) treaty of free #trade of #IT products to break #cellphone & other #electric products #manufacturing dream. #technology #Smartphones #Electronics #informationtechnology https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/729918-pbc-warns-wto-treaty-to-bre...

PBC, in a report on Thursday, expected the information technology agreement (ITA) to cause jobs and revenue losses and suppress potential for exports.

“The ITA will result in a net loss to the economy by replacing locally manufactured products with imported ready-to-sell products in the ITA listed categories,” said the council. “This will not only undermine the efforts to encourage investment by electronics manufacturers in Pakistan, but it will also cost Pakistan its independence to apply policy interventions to gradually increase its product space for exporting electronic products.”

The agreement aims to eliminate custom duties and reduce non-tariff measures which restrict trade in IT and electronic products. The goal is to increase global trade and competition in IT goods and services, increase adoption of technology and spur innovation in the sector. ITA accounts for 97 percent of world trade in IT and electronic products with trade volume of $3.7 trillion in 2019.

“There is an inconclusive evidence to suggest ITA is an appropriate avenue to expand a country’s capability in manufacturing and exporting electronics and IT products,” said the PBC. “Whilst counties that a signatory to the ITA have increased their IT and electronic product exports, non-signatories have also increased exports manifold.”

India and Bangladesh use cascading tariff structure to increase localisation and manufacturing of electronics in their countries. India, being signatory to the agreement, is facing international disputes in the WTO for adopting policies for localising manufacturing of electronics, claiming them to be against the ITA protocols.

The information technology agreement is not bound on any member country of the WTO. It has so far been signed by advanced economies that already have strong exports base of IT products.

Pakistan’s imports of ITA related products rose six-fold between 2003 and 2019, significantly higher than the global average. The imports recorded a compound annual growth rate of 13.2 percent during the period. The growth rate was much higher than the global average of 8.4 percent, according to the PBC

The business council said the country has experienced de-industrialisation due to policies that discourage manufacturing and make it easier to import finished products.

PBC said allowing across the board zero duty on components and finished, ready-to-sell electronics, will result in closure of existing manufacturing units, and also discourage additional investments in production facilities for electronics.

“By disallowing cascading of tariffs under ITA, and removing the advantage for local manufacturing, for example as envisaged in the mobile phones manufacturing policy, companies such as Samsung may lose interest to invest in smartphone assembly in Pakistan,” it said. “Not only will this have an adverse impact on the external account, Pakistan will also miss opportunities to acquire technologies in manufacturing electronics by reducing the chances of foreign companies to enter Pakistan.”

The council said the Federal Board of Revenue estimated revenue loss of Rs3.5 billion from 105 tariff lines following Pakistan’s accession into the ITA.

Though imports of ITA-based products are a good proxy measure of technological adoption and accession to ITA will lead to zero-rated imports of electronics, it will further delay development of IT manufacturing sector.

Local mobile phone manufacturers have urged the Ministry of Industries and Production to implement Cabinet decision of exempting four percent withholding tax on the sale of Pakistan made handsets.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40022762/4pc-wht-exemption-on-local-...

In a written letter to the Engineering Development Board (EDB) the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association (PMPMA) while urging the Ministry to exempt the sales of local manufactured cell phones from 4 percent withholding tax has requested for the implementation of June 2, 2020 Cabinet decision.

The letter was sent to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) EDB by PMPMA, copies of which have also been sent to Industries Minister and other Ministries, the Association revealed.

According to official sources the PMPMA since the approval of the mobile device manufacturing policy in June 2020, has repeatedly requested the relevant officials for the implementation of the policy in letter and spirit, so that they can optimise their operations but so far the ministry does not appear to be serious in implementing the policy.

This was the industry’s perception after the meeting held in the office of Minister of Industries on 3rd September, 2020 and subsequent follow up meeting with the Chairman and CEO (EDB) held in Lahore on 18 September, 2020.

Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association deliberated the issue and raised the following five point opinion in the letter: (i) the exemption of 4 percent withholding tax on local sales of locally manufactured mobile phones is an integral part of the mobile device manufacturing policy approved by the federal cabinet on 2nd June, 2020.

(ii) The exemption is absolutely critical to provide a level playing field to the local industry which consists of more than 15 manufacturers and provides employment to over 7 to 10 thousand. Moreover the local cell phone manufacturers are planning to expand their plants to produce more handsets to meet the local demand for mobile phones.

(iii) If the exemption, already approved under the MDMP, is not notified, it shall disturb the differential envisaged under the MDMP between the duty and taxes on CKD/SKD kits of locally manufactured mobile phones as compared to CBU imports into the country.

(v mobile phone industry is strategic a sector which, if properly incentivised, can provide employment opportunities to over 200,000 Pakistanis, and within a short period of time, create export opportunity worth billions of rupees.

Infinix #mobile phone factory in #Karachi is producing around 3 million mobile devices per year. It is reshaping the #smartphone experience in #Pakistan with its latest offerings. Here's how - Sponsored - DAWN.COM. https://www.dawn.com/news/1586440


Infinix, a leading smartphone brand in the Pakistani market has caused a stir in the world of tech in a short period of time.

Leading the future in the smartphone world in Pakistan, the brand has set new benchmarks in innovation-led manufacturing through cutting-edge technology, exquisitely designed dynamic smartphones, and conquered global life experiences with a winning combination of technology tossed with fashion.

Infinix is well known for being bold and forward-leaning.

Instead of playing it safe, it has taken the risk and moved fast. Instead of waiting for others, it has set the direction for competitors.

The tech innovator has completed five strong and successful years in the market, growing from strength to strength, becoming the most loved, and trusted choice in Pakistan; a legendary brand that challenges the norms with devices explicitly designed for the country's youth to learn about the opportunities and challenges of global expansion, focusing on fast-moving high-tech space.

Here's a rundown of Infinix’s journey of becoming a success story in Pakistan.

How it all began
The journey started in 2013 with a strategy of complete line of mobile devices.

With the SURF series 39's initial release, the brand introduced ‘ALPHA’ and unveiled the high-end ‘Marvel series’ which received fantastic response. The same year, Infinix broke through the market with the launch of the ‘Zero series’. Its popularity with the masses instantly made it a premium smartphone brand in the emerging markets.

The company's success depended not only upon the quality product but also the reliability & benchmark it had set. During its trailblazing tenure in 2015, the brand witnessed top sales record for any single product with the launch of ‘HOT’. Simultaneously, the ‘NOTE series’ was introduced to cater to the business and daily functionality for consumers.

Aware of the nature of its millennial audience and financial restraints, Infinix took a giant leap in 2016 by introducing a winning combination of tech and fashion, i.e. the ‘S series.’

Infinix has currently been marked as the largest mobile phone production and assembly company in Pakistan. The existing factory produces 3 million units per year.

Exquisite design
Infinix innovations have a clear purpose: represent infinite possibilities and distinctive characteristics.

Influenced by French designs and investments, they make life better and easier. The designs are more personal, intelligent, and deliver an experience that flows seamlessly and continuously wherever you go. It combines power and functionality, whether you are at work or play at home or away.

Tech innovation
A brand that envisions phones as an expression of self-discovery and has struck a chord with users who prioritise fashion and technology through daily interactions, Infinix's range of intuitive products has become a lifestyle by default, representing intelligent and trend-setting experiences around the world.

In a developing country like Pakistan, smartphones, in general, are unable to reach the masses due to their high price points. Infinix designs smartphones for techies who are on the lookout for stylish and aesthetic designs at the best value for money.

Presence around the globe
The company has its footprints across the world; however, its contemporary design, the need for digital technology, and effective functionality have made it incredibly popular across more than 70 countries in South East Asia, South Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Interest in cellphone assembly grows as smuggling falls
PTA has so far permitted 24 companies to assemble handsets in Pakistan

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2186936/interest-cellphone-assembly-gr...


Last month, Pakistan began local manufacturing of mobile phones, which is expected to open further avenues of investment in the country and create employment opportunities.

Chinese company Transsion Holdings and Pakistan’s Tecno Group have formed a joint venture called Transsion Tecno Electronics Ltd (TTE) with the Chinese company having 40% shareholding while the remaining 60% stake is held by the Pakistani firm.

The joint-venture company – the first 3G/4G smartphone manufacturing facility in Pakistan – has initial capacity to produce 1.8 million units annually on a single-shift basis with over 800 skilled workers below 30 years of age.

“The value of Pakistan’s mobile phone market stands at Rs366 billion, which is even higher than the value of the auto sector which is around Rs360 billion,” remarked TTE CEO Asif Allawala. “Interestingly, the government drafts policies conducive for the auto sector but ignores the mobile phone industry.”

He added that the industry would not be able to sustain much longer if the import of smartphones remained cheaper than local manufacturing.

Mobile industry worldwide

The mobile phone sector ranks among the five biggest industries in the world with sales revenue of $522 billion and over 6 billion devices sold annually.

China has been enjoying the label of being the global hub of handset manufacturing since 2010. The country exports mobile phones worth over $150 billion a year.

However, the handset production is now moving out of China due to rising labour cost and a prolonged trade war with the US.

“On average, Chinese labour costs $600 per month while Pakistan’s labour is much cheaper at only $120 per month,” said the TTE CEO.

However, Pakistan still remains far behind in the race of providing cheap labour force as many other Asian nations are increasingly luring mobile phone assembly companies by offering low-cost workers.

Most of the demand for mobile phones stems from Asia and Africa while markets in Europe and North America are on a saturation point, hence, their trend remains more or less flat each year. This provides a further incentive to the mobile phone manufacturers to relocate their units to Asian nations.

According to Statista, 1.5 billion units of smartphones were sold in 2019 worldwide. The number had been 122 million in 2007.

Pakistan’s market

Pakistan has 164 million cellular subscribers out of a population of 207 million. The country ranks seventh among world’s largest handset importers.

Alone in 2015, the country saw 114 million mobile subscriber identity modules (SIMs) sold with 46 million supporting 3G/4G while 68 million were 2G subscribers.

“Due to its mammoth size, no global brand can ignore Pakistan’s market,” said TTE Director Aamir Allawala. “The country’s annual market size, including 2G, 3G and 4G, is estimated at 34 million units.”

That meant the country’s demand for mobile phones remained in millions every year as a cellphone, especially smartphone, was changed by many consumers after two to three years, he said.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has successfully tackled the handset smuggling. Government’s endeavours to curb grey channels have yielded results as the country recorded 110% increase in legally imported mobile phones in 2019 compared to 2018.

“According to analysis, an increase of 110% has been seen in legal import of devices from the formal channel,” confirmed a PTA spokesperson to The Express Tribune.

Over more than a year ago, the government started blocking the mobile sets (smuggled phones) that were not approved by PTA with the help of Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS).

#Pakistan on brink of inking #industrial accord with #China for industrial cooperation to develop B2B joint ventures, build Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrialization under the second phase of #CPEC. #economy #industry #business #manufacturing https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/759243-pakistan-on-brink-of-inking...

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has already given approval to it. After consultation, both the countries will formally sign this framework agreement,” a senior official said.

On Tuesday, representatives from both the countries held the fifth meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on industrial cooperation under CPEC through video conference.

The Chinese side appreciated the efforts undertaken by Pakistan to elevate the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on industrial cooperation into a Framework for an increased cooperation under CPEC and agreed to continue consultation for its signing at the earliest. They also hailed the idea of joint industrial diagnostic studies followed by an action plan.

Khashih-ur-Rehman, Additional Secretary/Executive Director General, Board of Investment (BOI) and Ying Xiong, Director General, National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), China co-chaired the meeting. Representatives from line ministries, provincial governments, and embassies attended the meeting.

Rehman remarked that elevation of the MoU on IC (Industrial Cooperation) between Pakistan and China into a comprehensive framework would create new avenues for strengthening industrial cooperation under CPEC which is also open to third party participation.

Cooperation would likely enhance B2B and project to project (P2P) ties, balance and modernise existing industry, expedite SEZs development and promotion, seek technical and financial assistance from China, increase production capacity, and facilitate businesses with support of financial institutions from both sides, etc, he added.

Asim Ayub, Project Director of Project Management Unit (PMUC-CPEC-ICDP) on Industrial Cooperation of BoI, appreciated the Chinese side for accepting the Draft Framework Agreement shared by the Pakistani side in early November 2020.

Early signing of the Framework Agreement on IC would help both sides achieve maximum objectives of CPEC in line with its long-term Plan, Ayub said, adding that immense efforts had been ensured by Pakistani to devise the Draft Framework, taking all the provinces and other stakeholders on board and final approval of the Honorable Prime Minister was also obtained accordingly.

He stressed a Framework Agreement was the need of the hour for a measurable impact with regards to Industrial Cooperation, SEZs, Business to Business (B2B) and People to People (P2P) collaboration.

Ayub said Pakistan highly regarded the idea of Industrial Diagnosis by the Chinese side and extended its highest support to the group of experts from CIECC for the Textile Industrial Diagnosis last year. However, he was of the view that the Industrial Diagnosis needed to be carried out in a joint manner involving experts from both sides who might submit the Diagnosis Report to the JWG along with an Action Plan that would be imperative for the respective industrial sector.

The meeting also discussed progress made on Rashakai, Dhabeji, Alama Iqbal Industrial City, and Bostan SEZs under the CPEC, the revival project of Pakistan Steel Mill, China Pakistan Young Workers Exchange and Cooperation, and Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone.

Smartphones Policy to Create 50,000 Jobs in the Next Few Years

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/smartphones-policy-to-create-50000-mo...

There are about 16-18 cell phone manufacturers operating in Pakistan and a few others are coming. These plants are providing jobs to about 25,000 people – mostly young boys and girls. The industry experts are of the opinion that 50,000 more jobs will be created in the segment in the next few years. Some say that 70 per cent of jobs would be for women.

One auto parts manufacturer in Karachi delved into the smartphone assembling in the early days and is producing around 500,000 units a month for the local market. He is confident that the capacity would double in a year and the production will reach a million units a month.

Another player in Lahore is making a state-of-the-art mobile assembly facility which is going to be operational in January 2021. The aim is to reach 500,000 units a month by March-April; and by June-July, the facility will start expanding. The aim is to reach a million units a month by the end of 2021. The assembler is the biggest importer of smartphones in Pakistan and is doing backward integration.

The mobile phone formal industry is growing fast. In yesteryears, around 800,000-900,000 units used to be imported a month in Pakistan through formal channels. After the induction of Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), illegal imports of the phone is no longer possible. Due to this and lockdown, smartphone imports went up to 2-2.2 million in June 20. Overall, the monthly average import in Pakistan is standing around 1.3-1.5 million units a month in 2020.

Majority of the phones are in the category of $200 or low, and all these would probably be assembled in Pakistan within a couple of years. Any company that would not decide to assemble in Pakistan could be wiped out in the cheap smartphone segment. That could be a worry for Samsung. The company operates in all segments. Its premium phones would keep on coming as imported units – but the segment is small. If the company doesn’t start assembling here, it risks losing market share. it is still mulling on the assembly idea.

Apart from Samsung, big Chinese brands such as VIVO and OPPO are also weighing options of starting assembly in Pakistan, and VIVO could be one big player in a few years in the local market assembling. Once big companies come in and set up units in Pakistan, parts manufacturing may start taking place at home. There will be a huge spillover for the local assemblers.

The smartphone policy is envisaging in stage 1 (2020-21) to start assembling units here – that is happening and credit goes to EDB and Ministry of Industries. In stage 2, the plan is to have a charger, Bluetooth, handsfree, and motherboard (PCB) assembly by 2022. Housing and other plastic parts manufacturing to start in 2023, and stage 4 is to make display and battery by 2025.

For all these steps, big Chinese and Korean players should come and assemble here. PM Imran Khan should take this initiative and talk at the government-to-government level. The ground is being laid. The industry players are charged, the gaps in cellphone and data penetration still exist and the government needs to work on rolling the right infrastructure. The smartphone assembly could well be the first step of Pakistan venturing into the tech hardware.

Pakistan: 1.2 million #smartphones manufactured in first two months of 2021. These phones were manufactured at the 33 local #mobile devices assembly plants in #Pakistan. #manufacturing – Gulf News

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-12-million-smartp...


The number of smartphones assembled and produced in January and February 2021 indicate a significant increase as compared to the last two years. The country produced 2.1 million smartphone devices in 2020 and 119,639 in 2019, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The country has produced over 25 million mobile devices including 4G smartphones following the successful implementation of PTA’s Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS).

“With the successful execution of DIRBS, the local assembly industry has evolved from infancy to well-growing stage, with significant growth seen in the local assembly of smartphones,” PTA said. The system implemented in 2019 also led to a significant increase in legal imports of mobile devices.

In 2020, Pakistan approved its first mobile device manufacturing policy to attract investment and encourage manufacturers of major cell phone brands to set up plants in Pakistan.


Job opportunities
The policy also aims to create more job opportunities in Pakistan, create smartphone research and development centers and boost the production of electronic equipment in Pakistan.

The government’s offered several tax incentives and abolished withholding tax on locally assembled phones which encouraged the investors to set up companies in Pakistan, says Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque.

Leading smartphone brand Infinix currently has the largest mobile phone production and assembly plant in Pakistan where 3 million units are produced each year.

Vivo, Airlink and Advance Telecom are the three new companies that will soon establish their manufacturing units in Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi.

PTA also received several mobile device manufacturing applications after finalizing its mobile device manufacturing regulations which “will help create more jobs in this technical sector, as well as enable consumers to buy locally manufactured mobile devices.”


5G connectivity
Pakistan’s telecom sector offers attractive investment opportunities as it boasts of 178 million mobile phone subscribers with 93 million 3G-4G users, according to the January 2021 data.

Pakistan is also set to launch 5G mobile phone connectivity by December 2022 following a successful trial by PTA in February 2021.

The demonstrations included remote surgery, cloud gaming and overview of anticipated 5G technology applications for social and economic development of Pakistan.

“With the successful 5G trial in a limited environment, we believe that this technology will unlock new realities for eHealth, smart homes and cities, agriculture, autonomous vehicles, cloud computing, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence” Nadeem Khan, acting CEO of PTCL Group said.

#Pakistan Engineering Development Board on #mobile #phone #manufacturing : TranssionTecno’s Itel, Infinix & Tecno are producing 650,000 units per month in #Karachi. Airlink’s plant in #Lahore has production capacity of 500,000 to 800,000 units per month.”

https://www.techjuice.pk/engineering-development-board-begins-works...

In recent news, the Engineering Development Board (EDB), which is a technical arm of the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP), has begun working on a framework for the local assembly of tablets, smartphones, and other related mobile accessories in the near future.

The MoIP further stated that the smartphone industry could be larger than the existing automotive industry in the upcoming years due to the high demand for devices across the country. Hence, this report has been formulated in line with the Mobile Device Manufactur­ing Policy of the Pakistan Telecom Authority, whereas the manufacturing plants fall under the ambit of the EDB.

EDB further added:
“TranssionTecno, Kara­chi-based company assembles three brands including Itel, Infinix, and Tecno, has increased local assembly from 150,000 units to 650,000 units per month. Airlink Communication Ltd has commenced its test trials at its plant in Lahore, and has the production capacity of 500,000 to 800,000 units per month.”

Moreover, the EDB General Manager Policy Asim Ayaz stated that this policy provides sufficient advantage to the local manufacturing of smartphones especially below the price range of $200 in comparison with imported sets which normally are too costly for consumers to purchase.

Smartphone brands in Pakistan:

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/smartphone-brand-share-in-pakistani-m...

Infinix:
The smartphones of Infinix have become popular for rendering quality products with excellent specs and features at an affordable cost, Because of this, it has witnessed growth in terms of value in the Pakistani market for the whole year. Its value rose from 11.6% in Q1 of 2020 to 27.6% in Q2 of 2020. Afterward, it witnessed a slight decline of 6.5 % in Q3 of 2020 then again increased a bit to 23.4% in Q4 of 2020. Even if you see the last four quarters, its value has remained constant without large fluctuations. Similarly, in terms of units, its share has also witnessed a similar trend, it increased in Q2 and witnessed a bit of decline in Q3 of 2020 and again jumped to 27.5% in Q4 of 2020.

Vivo:
The smartphones of Vivo are also popular in the Pakistani market. Due to this, they are also witnessing growth in terms of value in the recent era. Their market value of Vivo witnessed a positive trend except for Q2 in which it saw a decline. In the last two quarters, its share increased from 17.1 % in Q3 of 2020 to 22.2 % in Q4 of 2020. Similarly, in terms of units sold, a similar trend has been followed. The decline was only witnessed in Q2 of 2020 while in the last two quarters its share has increased from 15.3% in Q3 of 2020 to 20.2% in Q4 of 2020.

Tecno:
As Tecno and Infinix are subsidiaries of the same parent company, So the notion is the same, providing quality products at an affordable price. Therefore, its value has also not much fluctuated and seen a bit of decline in Q3 of 2020 after increasing in Q2 of 2020 as you can see in the above-mentioned graph. But again its value rose from 9.5 % in Q3 of 2020 to 14.3 % in Q4 of 2020. Simultaneously, in terms of units sold, its share has increased and seen a constant trend from 16.5 % in Q3 of 2020 to 19.0 % in Q4 of 2020.

iTel:
iTel is making gradually evolving in the Pakistani market because of its budget price. In terms of units sold, its share has not much fluctuated. It has seen a bit of decline in the Q2 of 2020 but its share increased from 5.5% in Q3 of 2020 to 8.8% in Q4 of 2020.

Oppo:
Oppo is renowned for providing the best camera phones. It has been witnessing a rising trend in 2019 but this time around its share has been falling in all Q1, Q2, and Q3 quarters as you can see in the graph, and its share in terms of value has fallen to 10.4 % in Q4 of 2020.

Samsung:
Unfortunately, the tech giant Samsung has not been able to grasp a major portion of the market share. However, its share hasn’t witnessed many fluctuations both in terms of units and value. In terms of units, its share increased in Q1 of 2020 and decreased in Q2 of 2020 then increased to 8.6% in Q3 of 2020 and fallen again 8.0 % in Q4 of 2020. However, on the other side, in terms of value, it has witnessed a growth of 0.1 % in the last quarter and only seen a decline in Q2 of 2020.

Others:
The other smartphone brand share include Huawei, Xiaomi, Realme, Apple etc. These brands are also seeing a decline in the local smartphone market. In terms of units sold, their share has decreased significantly from Q1 of 2020 to Q4 of 2020. Similarly, in terms of value, their share has decreased from 25.6 % in Q1 of 2020 to 17.5 % in Q4 of 2020. The tech-giant Huawei due to the non-availability of Google service has literally vanished from the local market.

Conclusion:

The afore-mentioned data is updated and taken from a very reliable source. If you have any queries regarding it, you can tell share them in the comment section!

The majority of the people in Pakistan tend towards cheaper and simpler smartphones. As we know that most of the top quality products like apple devices are expensive and a bit sophisticated if we compare them with the Android devices. As Android phones are being produced by a number of companies due to which they are much cheaper and most indigenous people know how to use them. Therefore, it is evident that most Pakistani people’s preference would be an Android phone in less price than Apple devices as they are expensive. In this article, we would let you know the smartphone brand share in the Pakistani Market.

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/smartphone-brand-share-in-pakistani-m...

Smartphone Brand Share in Pakistan (2020)

Smartphone Market Share (Units & Value):

I will start with Infinix.

Infinix:

The smartphones of Infinix have become popular for rendering quality products with excellent specs and features at an affordable cost, Because of this, it has witnessed growth in terms of value in the Pakistani market for the whole year. Its value rose from 11.6% in Q1 of 2020 to 27.6% in Q2 of 2020. Afterward, it witnessed a slight decline of 6.5 % in Q3 of 2020 then again increased a bit to 23.4% in Q4 of 2020. Even if you see the last four quarters, its value has remained constant without large fluctuations. Similarly, in terms of units, its share has also witnessed a similar trend, it increased in Q2 and witnessed a bit of decline in Q3 of 2020 and again jumped to 27.5% in Q4 of 2020.

Vivo:

The smartphones of Vivo are also popular in the Pakistani market. Due to this, they are also witnessing growth in terms of value in the recent era. Their market value of Vivo witnessed a positive trend except for Q2 in which it saw a decline. In the last two quarters, its share increased from 17.1 % in Q3 of 2020 to 22.2 % in Q4 of 2020. Similarly, in terms of units sold, a similar trend has been followed. The decline was only witnessed in Q2 of 2020 while in the last two quarters its share has increased from 15.3% in Q3 of 2020 to 20.2% in Q4 of 2020.

Tecno:

As Tecno and Infinix are subsidiaries of the same parent company, So the notion is the same, providing quality products at an affordable price. Therefore, its value has also not much fluctuated and seen a bit of decline in Q3 of 2020 after increasing in Q2 of 2020 as you can see in the above-mentioned graph. But again its value rose from 9.5 % in Q3 of 2020 to 14.3 % in Q4 of 2020. Simultaneously, in terms of units sold, its share has increased and seen a constant trend from 16.5 % in Q3 of 2020 to 19.0 % in Q4 of 2020.

iTel:

iTel is making gradually evolving in the Pakistani market because of its budget price. In terms of units sold, its share has not much fluctuated. It has seen a bit of decline in the Q2 of 2020 but its share increased from 5.5% in Q3 of 2020 to 8.8% in Q4 of 2020.

Oppo:

Oppo is renowned for providing the best camera phones. It has been witnessing a rising trend in 2019 but this time around its share has been falling in all Q1, Q2, and Q3 quarters as you can see in the graph, and its share in terms of value has fallen to 10.4 % in Q4 of 2020.

Samsung:

Unfortunately, the tech giant Samsung has not been able to grasp a major portion of the market share. However, its share hasn’t witnessed many fluctuations both in terms of units and value. In terms of units, its share increased in Q1 of 2020 and decreased in Q2 of 2020 then increased to 8.6% in Q3 of 2020 and fallen again 8.0 % in Q4 of 2020. However, on the other side, in terms of value, it has witnessed a growth of 0.1 % in the last quarter and only seen a decline in Q2 of 2020.

Others:

The other smartphone brand share include Huawei, Xiaomi, Realme, Apple etc. These brands are also seeing a decline in the local smartphone market. In terms of units sold, their share has decreased significantly from Q1 of 2020 to Q4 of 2020.  Similarly, in terms of value, their share has decreased from 25.6 % in Q1 of 2020 to 17.5 % in Q4 of 2020. The tech-giant Huawei due to the non-availability of Google service has literally vanished from the local market.

Conclusion:

The afore-mentioned data is updated and taken from a very reliable source. If you have any queries regarding it, you can tell share them in the comment section!

Non-textile exports rise in 8MFY21

The exports of engineering goods went up 19.74pc and surgical instruments 4.92pc. In the engineering sector, the export of electric fans posted over 15pc growth followed by transport equipment 0.95pc and other electrical machinery 17.16pc respectively.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1613334

GST removal on locally-assembled units: Samsung, OPPO may start manufacturing cellphones

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40072439/gst-removal-on-locally-asse...


M/s Samsung and M/s OPPO are likely to start local assembly in Pakistan soon after removal of sales tax on locally assembled mobiles from above $ 200 category.

Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020 was approved by the ECC in May 2020. The decision was subsequently ratified by the Cabinet on June 2, 2020.

The mobile device manufacturing policy provides sufficient advantage to the local manufacturing of mobile phones especially below $ 200 category in comparison with imports in completely built condition. M/s VIVO, M/s Airlink Communications, M/s Inovi Telecom are amongst the new investors in local assembly of mobile phones that have already started their trial production in February 2021.

The combined capacity of these three companies is more than 1 million mobile handsets per month whereas M/s Transsion Tecno, a Karachi based company assembling three famous brands including Itel, Infinix and Tecno , has increased local assembly from 150,000 units to 650,000 units per month owing to increase in demand soon after the policy was launched. In addition to the new entrants in mobile assembly, few experienced companies like G-Five and Q Mobile was already operating in the market, while M/s Samsung and OPPO are poised to enter local assembly in Pakistan market and are probably waiting for the implementation of approved recommendation of policy to remove sales tax on locally assembled mobiles from above $ 200 category. By introduction of new players and capacity enhancement by existing companies, Pakistan will soon be able to meet major portion of local demand, which was around 3.6 million per month in CY 2020.

The local manufacturing companies are moving rapidly from 2-G non android market to the 4-G smart phones as the local manufacturing has ensured availability of mobile handsets at competitive prices to customers.

Engineering Development Board (EDB), a technical arm of Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) was made the secretariat of Mobile Policy.

The policy has provisioned a 3 % export rebate for the local companies to enter into export market. From the initial success of the policy and increased demand in local and international market, the local assemblers are optimistic about export of locally assembled mobile phones.

The mobile phone manufacturing industry is expected to become larger than the automotive industry of Pakistan in terms of turnover in a few years and employment is expected to grow manifold. To further boost the electronics sector, work has already started on preparing appropriate framework for local assembly of tablets, allied equipment and mobile accessories in near future in line with its vision to improve the entire eco system, and make this the fastest growing sector in terms of employment and exports in the near future.

#Samsung plans #smartphone assembly in #Pakistan. Smartphone imports in Pakistan have swelled by 63% to $1.860 billion in 11MFY21 from $1.138bn in the same period last year. There are over 100 million #mobile #broadband subscribers. DAWN.COM

https://www.dawn.com/news/1633812

South Korean tech giant Samsung has been in talks with three investors for setting up a mobile manufacturing unit in Pakistan.

Sources said out of three parties, one has a franchise from Korea which has already set up vehicle assembling plants in Pakistan under Auto Development Policy (ADP) 2016-21, while other two are different parties.

They said so far no agreement has been signed as Samsung, after short listing various companies, is in the process of finalising its plan to award the licence to one of the companies for cellphone manufacturing.

The world’s biggest smartphone maker said in an earnings estimate on Wednesday that it expected operating profit of around 12.5 trillion won ($11 billion) for April to June, up from 8.15 trillion won a year earlier.

Companies being shortlisted for award of licence

“The Korean company aims to start local assembly of cellphones in the last quarter of this year,” a source, who is looking after the development in the mobile phone sector, told Dawn on Wednesday.

Market sources said Samsung may prefer the option to ink the agreement with one of the Korean companies operating in Pakistan owing to comfort level which it may not find with non-Korean firms.

The Engineering Development Board (EDB), an arm of the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP), approved Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (MDMP) in 2020 and so far 21 companies have been given the green signal for mobile device manufacturing authorisation from March to June 2021.

As per EDB list, factories’ locations include Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad. Some prominent brand names include Nokia, Oppo, Infinix, Tecno, Itel, Vivo, Alpha, Realme, VGOTEL, DCODE, Calme, Xcell, Spice, TCL, Alcatel, etc.

Sources said that the government has framed MDMP to encourage foreign players to take a plunge in Pakistan for setting up cellphone manufacturing unit. The aim is to produce the product under the banner of “Make in Pakistan” and to discourage imports.

Cellphone imports, as per figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), have swelled by 63pc to $1.860 billion in 11MFY21 from $1.138bn in the same period last fiscal year.

According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, during July 2012 to February 2021, telecom sector has attracted over $3.9 billion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The FDI in telecom during July-February FY21 was $101.1 million. Telecom operators have invested an amount of $363.9m during July-December FY21.

The main driver behind this investment is the cellular mobile sector which has invested $253.5m during the period. The overall investment in the telecom sector during the first eight months of FY21 crossed $465m. Pakistan’s cellphone subscribers have reached 183.48m till May 2021.

#China #tech-giant Xiaomi to Set up Local #smartphone assembly unit in #Pakistan. Xiaomi is following the footsteps of other major brands like Tecno, Infinix & Realme which have recently opened their local #manufacturing units in Pakistan. #mobilephones https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/tech-giant-xiaomi-to-set-up-local-ass...

In a landmark development, the Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has announced that it will set up a local assembly unit in the country in three to four months, according to sources. The latest development will not only generate employment opportunities for the indigenous people but will also boost the local smartphone manufacturing space in the country. Furthermore, the local manufacturing of smartphones will also attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and ramp up a foreign exchange through exports.

Tech-giant Xiaomi to Set up Local Assembly Unit in Pakistan: Source
Basically, Xiaomi is following the footsteps of other major brands like Tecno, Infinix, Realme, etc. who have recently announced to open their local manufacturing unit in Pakistan. It will greatly benefit the company as Xiaomi is currently one of the most loved brands in Pakistan. It can be evident if we look at the sale of its recently launched devices like Mi 11, Note 10, etc. The primary reason behind its huge demand is that it renders quality, consumer-centric (gaming phones, camera phones, etc.), and affordable products.

Furthermore, as we know that Xiaomi deals in a range of accessories and IoT products. So if the company’s smartphone local assembly becomes a success story then the company will surely install other product manufacturing assemblies as well.

Currently, Pakistan is the 7th largest importer of mobile phones with a humungous market size of over 40 million users. Thus, consequently, local manufacturing will also save foreign exchange on mobile phone imports.

Lucky Motor to produce of Samsung-branded mobile #smartphone in #Pakistan beginning in December 2021. Plant will be located at LMC’s existing plant facility producing vehicles at Bin Qasim Industrial Park, Special Economic Zone, Port Qasim, #Karachi. https://www.brecorder.com/news/40107634

https://twitter.com/haqsmusings/status/1416039226492129281?s=20

Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC), a subsidiary of Lucky Cement Limited, has entered into an agreement with Samsung Gulf Electronics Co., FZE (Samsung) for the production of Samsung-branded mobile devices in Pakistan, stated a notice sent to the country’s stock exchange on Friday.

“In pursuance of this transaction, LMC has also initiated the process of seeking necessary regulatory approvals to carry on the said business and, in this endeavor, has filed an application with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for securing the license,” added the notice.

The notice added the production facility for producing Samsung mobile devices will be located at LMC’s existing plant facility producing vehicles at Bin Qasim Industrial Park, Special Economic Zone, Port Qasim, Karachi.

Secretary informs parliamentary panel: 'Samsung poised to enter local market; two firms short-listed'

“The production facility is anticipated to be completed by end of December 2021. That further information on the amount contemplated to be invested in the production facility and the capacity thereof shall be discussed between the Parties (Samsung and LMC) in due course of time.”

LMC is currently engaged in the business of manufacturing, assembly, marketing, distribution and sales of Kia and Peugeot branded vehicles, parts and accessories thereof, in Pakistan.

The development comes as a major landmark for Pakistan that has been pushing to join the league of smartphone manufacturing countries.

In a bid to boost Pakistan's telecom and manufacturing sector, some 21 new companies have been authorised to start local manufacturing/assembly of mobile phones.

#China's Oppo to set up a dedicated assembly line in #Pakistan for Realme to produce #5G-enabled #smartphones and another for artificial intelligence (#AI) products at affordable rates. #Mobile #technology #Telecommunications #Internet #Broadband
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2311681/chinese-firm-to-launch-5g-phon...

Many smartphone companies have expressed their intention to begin production of mobile phones in Pakistan after cellular giant Samsung collaborated with the Lucky Group to produce high-quality phones in the country.

Now, the companies are making efforts to introduce 5G phones in the local market.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme has shared plans to launch 5G-enabled phones in Pakistan at affordable prices after its parent announced the establishment of a local assembly line in the country.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Realme Regional Marketing Director Sherry Dong said that the brand received an excellent reception in Pakistan, hence the company was now prioritising the country to introduce 5G mobile phones.

She added that the company was the first smartphone brand in Pakistan to sell over a million devices in less than a year, which was a significant milestone and paved the way for new investments and introduction of diverse products.

She announced that the company was planning to set up a local assembly line for its products after which top-notch technology would be available in Pakistan at affordable prices.

Read More: Why 5G is still out of Pakistan’s grasp

A few years ago, Realme’s parent company, Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Ltd, had expressed its interest in setting up a mobile assembly plant in Pakistan.

Giving further details, she said that the facility would have two separate assembly lines - one for each brand.

With a dedicated assembly line for Realme, the company will introduce 5G-enabled mobiles as well as other artificial intelligence (AI) products at affordable rates.

“5G is the future, therefore, we have to provide up-to-date technological products to Pakistani consumers at affordable prices,” she added.

The company utilises online marketplaces to promote its products because e-commerce has grown significantly in Pakistan due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keeping this in view, the management of the smartphone company has decided to introduce its own digital store in Pakistan’s online marketplace.

“We entered into partnerships with a couple of local companies to sell our products, but now we have decided to establish our own digital outlet in Pakistan,” she said.

Sherry added that digital platforms in Pakistan had matured over the past couple of years, but they still lagged behind regional countries.

She pointed out that the company faced some issues with Pakistan Customs as delay in release of shipments had caused shortage of its products.

Mobile Distributor Plans Pakistan’s Biggest Private Sector IPO

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-06/mobile-distribut...

Air Link Communication Ltd. plans to raise at least 5.85 billion rupees ($36 million) through an initial public offering this month, which would be the largest from a non-state firm in Pakistan.

The Lahore-based company plans to sell new and existing shares at a price between 65-91 rupees each, Chief Executive Officer Muzzaffar Hayat Piracha said in a reply to queries Friday. It will take investor orders on Aug. 30 and 31 and then price the offering.

Pakistan has seen a record streak of IPOs this year. Air Link, which started operations about a decade ago and has since become one of the largest distributors of phones in the country, saw sales rise 50% to 3.6 million units in year ended June.

The company plans to issue 60 million new shares and Piracha will sell 30 million from his holdings, said Kamran Nasir, CEO at JS Global Capital Ltd., consultant and bookrunner to the transaction. The IPO will be the largest since Interloop Ltd. raised about 5 billion rupees in 2019.

Air Link, which has also recently expanded into mobile assembling, plans to use the funds to expand its distribution network. It aims to have 150 outlets by 2026 from 14 currently, which will boost margins together with the assembly business, said Nasir.

The company expects its revenue to triple to 129 billion rupees and net income surging 500% to 9.2 billion rupees by fiscal 2025 from 2020, according to Nasir.

In what seems like an odd move for all involved, Pakistan's telecommunication regulator – the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) – has announced approval for Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC) to manufacture Samsung mobile devices.


https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/11/in_pakistan_a_car_company/

The local automobile manufacturer is a joint venture between Lucky Group and South Korea's Kia Motors, and manufactures and distributes Kia cars built in a purpose-built plant in Karachi's Bin Qasim Industrial Park.

"The authorization to manufacture Samsung Mobile devices in Pakistan is a landmark achievement and will further revolutionize the vibrant mobile manufacturing ecosystem in the country by ensuring presence of major local and foreign players in the market," declared the regulator.

The PTA has issued similar Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) authorizations to 25 foreign and local companies to produce the tech in Pakistan. The devices will be both sold in the country as well as exported.

Samsung and Lucky inked the deal back in July. The production facility will be located at LMC's existing Karachi auto plant and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.

PTA tweeted, celebrating the job opportunity potential stemming from the new plant:

Samsung's decision to partner with an automobile manufacturer may seem unusual but, according to Pakistani brokerage and research firm Topline Securities, Samsung has form setting up factories in the region to serve domestic and export markets. In Bangladesh, for example, Samsung uses a local factory established in 2018 to produce 95 per cent of the 2.5 million mobile devices sold in-country.

Pakistani English-language daily The Express Tribune offers another reason the Lucky Group could be interested: the paper reported this week that an increase in prices for steel and other raw materials, plus shipping cost hikes, have caused a rise in vehicle prices even as COVID-repressed demand for cars was gradually rebounding.

The deal means Lucky Group has diversified into more affordable products, while Samsung has boosted local capacity, given local buyers a good reason to consider its wares, and diversified its manufacturing base.

Tweet from Almas Hyder, Chairman of Engineering Development Board (EDB):

Today 5500 units smart phones have been exporter from INOVI telecom to Middle East market. A good start for Pakistan.

https://twitter.com/AlmasHyder/status/1425828347238510593?s=20

#Pakistan begins #export of #smartphones . After authorisation from Pakistan #Telecom Authority (PTA), Inovi Telecom has exported 5,500 units of 4G smartphones carrying "manufactured in Pakistan" tag to the United Arab Emirates (#UAE). #electronics

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2315622/pakistan-begins-export-of-smar...

"PTA congratulates the company for this landmark achievement. This is the result of concerted efforts for the development of the mobile device manufacturing ecosystem in the country," the authority said in a statement issued on Saturday.

It said that the successful implementation of the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) and enabling government policies including the mobile manufacturing policy have created a favourable environment for mobile device manufacturing in Pakistan.

"As a part of this policy, Inovi Telecom Pvt. Ltd was issued mobile manufacturing authorisation by PTA on 9th April 2021," it added.

Within four months, according to PTA, the company has managed to export "manufactured in Pakistan" phones.

In recent times, the telecom sector has emerged as a prominent contributor to Pakistan’s economy as its share in the national exchequer soared 129% in 2020 compared to 2019, despite economic pressure arising from Covid-19.

In July, Lucky Motor Corporation entered into an agreement with Samsung Gulf Electronics to produce Samsung mobile phones in Pakistan at its automobile plant at Port Qasim.

In comments to The Express Tribune, Tecno Pack Telecom CEO Aamir Allawala termed the joint venture excellent development for the country

Samsung was a mobile phone giant and its decision to assemble phones in Pakistan was an indication of the success of the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (MDMP) launched by the government in June 2020, said Allawala.

The vision of the policy was clear i.e. by 2022, 80% of all mobile phones sold in Pakistan should be locally manufactured, he said.

The brands already being manufactured in Pakistan included Tecno, Infinix, Itel, Vivo, Oppo and Realme while Nokia was in the process of setting up a plant and kick-starting operations in September 2021, Allahwala further said.

Samsung's building a TV assembly plant in #Pakistan to churn out 50,000 units yearly. Samsung Electronics is also establishing a new #smartphone #manufacturing line in the country.- SamMobile
https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-building-tv-plant-pakistan-c...

Samsung Electronics is building a new TV manufacturing plant in Pakistan. The project will be finalized in collaboration with R&R Industries, and the factory is scheduled to become functional in the final quarter of the year. The news was confirmed via Twitter by the Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Abdul Razak Dawood.

According to the news, the building of Samsung’s new TV manufacturing plant was made possible in part by the Made-in-Pakistan policy, which provides incentives to bolster the domestic manufacturing industry.

Through its new TV factory in Pakistan, Samsung will be able to produce roughly 50,000 units every year, though it’s not clear what TV models will be made there, exactly.

Samsung will also build phones in Pakistan
Aside from the new TV manufacturing plant built in collaboration with R&R Industries, Samsung Electronics is also establishing a new mobile phone manufacturing line in the country.


This was announced by Lucky Motor Corporation a couple of months ago, the latter of which will repurpose its automotive plant at Port Qasim to assemble Samsung mobile devices. By 2022, 80% of all mobile phones sold in Pakistan could be manufactured locally, though not exclusively at the Port Qasim assembly plant.

OPPO #Pakistan targets 5mln #mobilephone exports. The #Chinese company has plans to upgrade its assembly plant to a #manufacturing plant in Pakistan with a target to make 5 million mobile phones per annum. #smartphone

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/896336-oppo-pakistan-targets-5mln-...

OPPO Pakistan has plans to upgrade its assembly plant to a manufacturing plant in Pakistan with a target to make 5 million mobile phones per annum.

OPPO Pakistan CEO George Long made the announcement during his meeting with Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar at his office on Wednesday.

Highlighting that the company also aimed to establish a research and development centre for transfer of technology and skill development of IT professionals in Pakistan, Long said OPPO was optimistic about exporting locally manufactured sets from the country.

Welcoming the announcement, the minister said that the government of Pakistan’s investment-friendly policies have improved the business ecosystem in Pakistan.

He said that local manufacturing of mobile would not only keep prices under control for local customers, but would also enable expansion of the mobile phone industry to become a bigger player in the economy. Bakhtyar said that this growth would result in the creation of numerous employment opportunities within the industry as well as associated industries in the country.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had floated the draft ‘Mobile Device Manufacturing Regulations and Authorisation’ for the promotion of domestic manufacturing of mobile phones.

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi to set up local manufacturing plant in Pakistan
Dawood says initial production of Xiaomi will be around 3 million handsets per annum


https://tribune.com.pk/story/2327553/smartphone-giant-to-set-up-loc...


KARACHI:
One of the world’s largest mobile manufacturers will set up a handset manufacturing plant in Pakistan, announced Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

On his official Twitter handle on Tuesday, he cherished that the Make in Pakistan was bearing fruits as Xiaomi had partnered up with Airlink Communications to manufacture smartphones in Pakistan.

The production facility would be established at Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Lahore, he said adding that 2.5 to 3 million handsets will be produced per year.

“The production facility will become functional in January 2022 and it will create 3,000 direct and indirect jobs,” he remarked.

In comments to The Express Tribune, Tecno Pack Electronics Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aamir Allawala said that Pakistan was among the top 10 handset markets in the world.

He cherished that Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020 had begun bearing fruits.

Allawala highlighted that investment of global mobile brands in local manufacturing was nearly nil until June 2020 despite a huge domestic market.

Until that period, the duties and taxes on completely built units (CBU) mobile phones were kept low – at the same level as their parts and components, he added.

In July 2020, the government created a reasonable differential in duties and taxes between CBU and completely knocked down (CKD)/ semi-knocked down (SKD) mobile phones under the mobile device manufacturing policy, he said.

This encouraged almost all foreign brands to start local assembly of mobile phones with a plan of indigenisation of its parts, he added.

“Currently, Tecno, Infinix, Itel, Oppo, Vivo, Realme and Nokia are producing smartphones in Pakistan,” Allawala said, adding that Samsung would begin production from December 2021 and Xiaomi from early 2022.

“By January 2022, 90% of all mobile phones sold in Pakistan will be made in the country,” he said.

The next step will be localisation of parts and boost in smartphone exports and all companies are making efforts in this regard, he added.

Talking to The Express Tribune, information and communications technology (ICT) expert Parvez Iftikhar termed Dawood’s announcement great development provided that manufacturer sticks to smartphones only.

It would not only provide jobs and other benefits to the economy but also help in increasing 4G penetration in the country, which is a pre-requisite for 5G, he added.

“It is time to not just celebrate but also to build upon it and increase our bandwidth in terms of exports, local infrastructure, policy making as well as setting a vision,” according to SI Global CEO Noman Ahmed Said.

He emphasised the need to work towards meeting and matching international standards and inculcate that skill at the collegiate level for youth engagement.

The net smartphone sales were around 1.3 million this year, which indicated the booming market share that we were currently heading towards, granting more employment opportunities as well, he added.

#Samsung starts producing mobile phones in Pakistan. #Pakistan imported #smartphones worth $644.673m in first 4 months (July-October) of 2021, up from $557.961m during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 15.54%. - DAWN.COM

https://www.dawn.com/news/1661220


KARACHI: One of the world’s largest manufacturers of mobile phones, Samsung, has finally started production in Pakistan, lifting hopes of the authorities and the industry that this would cut down the import bill of the country in the months to come.

The development came to light on Tuesday at a meeting of the company’s top managers with the Senators who visited the production site in line with the plan to receive a briefing on the growing new sector and challenges ahead for the cellphones manufacturing industry in Pakistan.

“We were informed that Samsung has formally started its production,” Faisal Subzwari, chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Industries and Production, told Dawn.

He headed a delegation of members of the Senate panel which visited Samsung’s production unit and an auto manufacturing plant, and held a meeting with the management of Export Processing Zone.


The company aims to manufacture around 3m handsets every year

“It’s really good to know that the company has started production within a short span of four months,” Mr Subzwari said. “We visited the production facility which was designed on modern lines and obviously the local manpower, support of local industry and conducive environment provided by the government led to such achievement. But still I believe that we need to move forward from just growing in the assembling area to localisation of the industry.”

The country has witnessed robust growth in local production of cellular phones. During the first 10 months of this year, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data says, the production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has almost doubled to 18.87 million against the import of mobile phones which stood at 45m.

However, despite the increase in local production of mobile phones, the import remained on a higher side. The PTA data says that mobile phones worth $644.673m were imported during the first four months (July-October) of 2021 compared to $557.961m during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 15.54 per cent.

The industry believes that it may take time to achieve the desired results but with the fresh start in an absolutely new industrial avenue, things have finally started moving in the right direction.

“With production of around 250,000 to 300,000, we aim to produce around 3m cellphones every year,” Mohammad Ali Tabba, chief of the Lucky Group which partners with Samsung to produce cellphones in Pakistan, told Dawn. “The whole production line is manual with no robotic assistance. So you can imagine how much workforce is required offering employment in this absolutely new area of engineering in Pakistan.”

He agreed that the country needed to move towards localisation from its current status of assembling industry and believed it was more the role of the industrial sector than the government to go for modification and compatibility.

“It’s not only the local production of cellphones but also a host of opportunities which it brings. From employment to investment and from export opportunities to local capacity building, it carries immense potential,” said Mr Tabba.

Samsung TV plant begins production in Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1662359

ISLAMABAD: South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics has operationalised its first TV line-up plant in collaboration with a local firm in Karachi, Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood announced on Monday.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Dawood shared photos of the facility and tweeted: “We congratulate Samsung Electronics on operationalising its first TV Line-up plant in Pakistan at Karachi in collaboration with R&R Industries. Initially, the unit will produce 50,000 TV sets and increase the capacity to 100,000 units within 2 years.”

South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics has operationalised its first TV line-up plant in collaboration with a local firm in Karachi, Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood announced on Monday.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Dawood shared photos of the facility and tweeted: “We congratulate Samsung Electronics on operationalising its first TV Line-up plant in Pakistan at Karachi in collaboration with R&R Industries. Initially, the unit will produce 50,000 TV sets and increase the capacity to 100,000 units within 2 years.”

Mr Dawood said the collaboration was in line with Make-in-Pakistan policy of the Ministry of Commerce. “I urge all our firms to partner up with leading international companies to set up units in Pakistan,” the adviser further tweeted.


R&R Industries Pvt Ltd had signed an agreement with Samsung to set up a plant in Karachi’s Korangi Industrial Area. The construction and fabrication of the factory has already been completed.

The local partner company believes the collaboration will create more than 700 jobs in Pakistan due to the vast nature of this project.

It is expected that the business revenue of the project will be approximately touch Rs5 billion per annum and an annual target of producing 50,000 TV units.

Samsung Electronics, founded in 1969, quickly became a major manufacturer in the Korean market. This soon expanded to Samsung becoming a leading global brand and has been one of the world’s leading manufacturer of televisions for the last 15 years.

It is also worth mentioning that Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC), a subsidiary of Lucky Cement Ltd announced, in July that it has entered into an agreement with Samsung Gulf Electronics Co., FZE (Samsung) for the production of Samsung-branded mobile devices in Pakistan. The production facility will be located at LMC’s existing plant which is expected to be completed by end December.

#Pakistan plans to export #smartphones in 2022. Pak produced 22.12 million handsets during January-November 2021 and imported 9.95 million. The country's #Mobile Device #Manufacturing Policy 2020 set a 49% localization target by June 2023. #economy https://tribune.com.pk/story/2337404/pakistan-eyeing-to-boost-cell-...

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood on Wednesday said that after achieving “big success” in the manufacturing of mobile phones last year, Pakistan was now seeking expansion into exports.

Pakistan, a net importer of mobile phones prior to 2016, produced 22.12 million handsets during January-November 2021 and imported 9.95 million during the same period, data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) shows.

In 2020, Pakistan’s import of mobile phones was 24.51 million compared to 13.05 million sets produced locally.

Various Chinese mobile phone manufacturers have played a key role in Pakistan’s production boom in 2021, according to the PTA.

Local manufacturing plants assembled 9.03 million smartphones while the number of 2G mobile phones was 13.09 million.

“I would say that our whole venture into manufacturing mobile phones has been a big success,” Dawood said in an interview with Arab News on Wednesday.


“It has been very successful because we now see that every month the number of mobile phones coming into the country is decreasing and the numbers that are being produced and sold locally is increasing.”

The PM’s aide said the record levels of local manufacturing were achieved under a new “conducive policy” introduced by the current government.

The Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020 set a 49 per cent localization target by June 2023, including 10 per cent localization of parts of the motherboard and 10 per cent localization of batteries.

“We have developed a policy for local assembling of mobile phones … We are currently looking at becoming a world-class assembler of mobile phones,” Dawood said.

“We are right now concentrating on low-end mobile phone sets and we hope that soon we will be able to start getting into high-end phones with world-class companies.”

#Pakistan businessman hints at #iPhone plant in the country. Local #manufacturing could reduce import tariffs to make its best iPhones more affordable and accessible in the country. #Apple saves around 22% on import duties by making its phones in #India https://www.imore.com/pakistan-business-leader-hints-iphone-plant-c...

Pakistan business leader Javed Afridi says he is in talks with Apple to bring an iPhone assembly plant to the country.

Afridi made the revelation on Twitter in response to a question from journalist Shiffa Yousafzai:

Afridi is best known as the owner of Pakistan's MG JW Automobile, and the CEO of Haier & Ruba. He is also the chairman and owner of Pakistani T20 cricket franchise Peshawar Zalmi. Haier is a leading Pakistani supplier of home appliances and tech including laptops and LED TVs.

The murmurings could be reminiscent of a similar deal Apple did in India in order to onshore iPhone assembly in the country there. Like India, iPhones and other Apple products sold in Pakistan are subject to high import tariffs if they aren't made locally, driving up the price.


If Apple was able to set up some form of manufacturing it could reduce the impact of these tariffs to make its best iPhones more affordable and accessible in the country. Apple saves around 22% on import duties by making its phones in India instead of importing them. It would also help Apple reduce its reliance on its supply chain in China, a weakness highlighted by the pandemic which saw heavy disruption to supply in the early part of 2020. Like India, Apple could also consider using phones made in Pakistan for export as well as the local market.

Apple announced its new iPhone SE earlier this week, featuring 5G and the A15 chip from the iPhone 13, a great budget option at just $429.

It’s an era of mobile phone and telecom technologies. With its ever-increasing demand, the mobile phone has already become a basic need for almost every person. Especially, after the COVID-19 pandemic, when the lockdown was imposed and the most convenient way to connect with others or perform our daily tasks was through the mobile phones, the demand for this gadget and related applications reached its maximum level. During the pandemic, the overall data usage also increased which in return, helped the telecom companies to gather more revenue hence contributing to the positive growth of the IT and telecom sector.

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/from-global-to-local-what-mobile-manu...

Pakistan itself has seen tremendous growth in the IT and telecom sectors over the past few years. No doubt, the inception of 3G/4G services in Pakistan has opened new avenues of growth and innovation in the country. With 191 million cellular subscribers, teledensity has reached 86.71% whereas, 3G/4G penetration stands at 49.94%. . According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s mobile imports witnessed an increase of 7.63 per cent in the first eight months from (July-February) the current fiscal year by reaching the value of $1311.493 million to $1,411.619 million.

So far, the establishment of local manufacturing plants has brought an investment of over $126 million to the country
To boost the telecom sector, the Government approved the local mobile phone manufacturing policy back in 2020. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in light of the policy issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations on January 28, 2021.

PTA has issued MDM authorization to 30 companies enabling them to manufacture mobile devices in Pakistan. The establishment of these manufacturing plants has brought an investment of over $126 million.

The Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy set a 49 per cent localization target by June 2023, including 10 per cent localization of parts of the motherboard and 10 per cent localization of batteries. As soon as the companies started manufacturing the mobile devices in the country, the mobile phone manufacturing industry saw significant growth in revenues and an affirmative decline in imports.

With a more than 200 million population and the ever-increasing sustainable demand for technology, Pakistan has become a very promising market for the IT and Telecom industry
According to the data revealed by PTA, Pakistan produced 24.66 million handsets in 2021. It is up from 13.05 million in the calendar year 2020, representing an 88 per cent increase. Moreover, the 4G assembled smartphones reached 10.06 million in 2021.

However, commercial imports reached 10.26 million in 2021. However, the local manufacturing plants have manufactured/assembled 1.53 million mobile phones including 0.86 million 2G and 0.67 million smartphones in January 2022.

The increase in local manufacturing has resulted in a decline in the imports of mobile phones. According to PBS, the imports of mobile phones decreased by 21.45 per cent in February 2022 as compared to the previous month of January.

As a result of the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Policy, which contains duty incentives for enhancing mobile phone assembling in Pakistan, the majority of phones cheaper than $200, are now assembled in Pakistan.

To achieve this milestone, various Chinese mobile phone manufacturers have played a key role. According to PTA, till November 2021, Itel topped the list by producing 3.91 million mobile devices followed by VGO Tel at 2.97 million, Infinix at 2.65 million Vivo at 2.45 million, Tecno at 1.87 million, QQMEE at 0.86 million, and Oppo 0.67 million. But these are not the only ones.

Samsung has also officially started manufacturing smartphones in Pakistan. The company is hoping to manufacture around 3million devices per year in the country. Similarly, 2.5 to 3 million sets of Xiaomi would be produced per year in Pakistan in collaboration with Airlink Communication.

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/from-global-to-local-what-mobile-manu...

The import of manufactured or Completely Built Units (CBU) is on the decline while that of mobile phone components (CKD) is on the rise. From July-November 2021, the import of CBU decreased by 73% to USD$ 179 million as compared to USD 661 million during the same period last year. This saved USD$ 410 million in foreign exchange. In contrast, the import of mobile phone components for local assembly increased by 407% to USD$ 674 million from USD 133 million last year.

The successful implementation of the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) along with conducive government policies including the mobile manufacturing policy has created a favourable environment for mobile device manufacturing in Pakistan. It has also contributed positively to the mobile ecosystem of Pakistan by eliminating the counterfeit device market while providing a level playing field for commercial entities and has created trust amongst consumers due to the formulation of standardized legal channels for all sorts of device imports.

Local mobile phone manufacturing has not only helped the telecom sector by increasing its revenue growth. But it also helped the country in many different ways. For instance, the local manufacturing industry had created almost 50,000 jobs already. Samsung aims to use labour-power for the manufacturing of mobile phones instead of machines which in return will produce millions of jobs for unemployed people of the country. It is also estimated that by increasing localization, production, and exports around 200,000 to half-million jobs in the country would have been created.

According to PTA, only 53% of the population of the country is using smartphones. The remaining 47% population is still using 2G devices. This also indicates that Pakistan is still lagging behind in the 5G race. As per GSMA, this number is still low and by 2025, 74% of the population of Pakistan will be able to use smartphones. One of the main reasons for this is the high mobile prices. The lower class does not have the capacity to buy expensive or even midrange phones. The local mobile manufacturing will definitely lower the mobile prices and the availability of cheaper phones will increase which in return, will increase the smartphone penetration in the country. If the mobile manufacturing industry keeps on going at this pace, in the near future, internet penetration
will also increase. Hence, the whole digitalization process will speed up.

Although, the mobile phone manufacturing industry is playing a good job of aggregating revenue growth. But there are still many ways to boost this growth. According to PBS, during the first five months of the fiscal year 2021-22, Pakistan earned $1051.050 million by offering various information technology IT services exports to other countries. Whereas, in August 2021, Pakistan has exported 5,500 units of 4G smartphones carrying the “manufactured in Pakistan” tag to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although it was a big achievement for the country, the number of exported devices is still very low. If the companies managed to increase this number, the revenue growth will also increase.

The government has plans to export the locally assembled phones to the markets like Africa, Central Asian Republics, and Afghanistan. It is a good initiative because Pakistan is currently manufacturing low-end mobile phones and it will be appropriate to export the phones to those countries that are preferably using the low-end phones.

Despite local manufacturing of mobile phones, the import bill is rising. The reason behind this is the import of high-end phones priced above $1000, a market segment that is not being manufactured in Pakistan currently. . The PBS data says that mobile phones worth $1.41 billion were imported during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year as compared to $1.31 billion during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 7.63 per cent. So, if the country starts producing high-end smartphones, the import bill will decline.

https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/from-global-to-local-what-mobile-manu...

The current government has proposed the Finance bill 2021-22 recently which indicates a great tax hike. In the new bill, the government has restored the 17 per cent sales tax on computer and IT equipment imports. Mobile phones worth more than $200 that are imported in CBU condition are also subject to a 17 per cent sales tax.

Although this increase in taxation is uncalled for it creates an opportunity for local manufacturers as high taxation discourages imports. Therefore, when the devices are manufactured locally, there will be no tax and the prices of the phones will automatically drop and people will prefer locally manufactured phones instead of imported ones.

The lack of a component ecosystem is also a hurdle in the way of boosting the manufacturing industry in the country. Many electronic and non-electronic components are required to make a smartphone. Each phone needs component parts and many of the manufacturers of these parts already have deals with other brands. It is currently difficult to manufacture the phone from scratch. The assemblers are importing mobiles in semi-knocked down (SKD) condition, which are then assembled in Pakistan.

It’s not only the local production of cellphones but also a host of opportunities that it brings. From employment to investment and from export opportunities to local capacity building, it carries immense potential. If the growth rate keeps on increasing at this pace, in no time, Pakistan will be considered one of the leading smartphone manufacturing hubs just like China and India. This will attract foreign investment, save foreign exchange on mobile phone imports, earn foreign exchange via exports and create job opportunities for local people.

Pakistan has exported its first vehicle – made by Master Changan Motors – under the new Auto Industry Development and Export Policy (AIDEP 2021-26), according to a press release issued by the company on Thursday.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2356278/pakistan-exports-its-first-suv...

The press release stated that under the new auto policy, all OEMs would require to initiate vehicle exports to help develop the local industry and expand the export capability of the country. The Changan Oshan X7, which is the country’s first export unit under the new policy, is the first vehicle to be launched through a global RHD premiere earlier in March 2022.

Pakistan is the only country outside of China to produce the latest model of Changan Oshan X7.

The press release quoted the company's CEO Danial Malik in a ceremony in Karachi, “We are delighted and proud to lead Pakistan into a new chapter for the auto industry and make its mark on a global level”.

“The Changan Oshan X7 is the first of many more vehicles to be exported under our vision to stay Future Forward, Forever and the Auto Industry Development and Export Policy (AIDEP 2021-26)”, he added.

The company further added that Pakistan is Changan’s first and only RHD manufacturing base and is helping the brand expand globally.

It added that the state-of-the-art plant was completed in a record time of just 13 months and now has the capacity to produce 50,000 vehicles annually.

“Master Changan is our first RHD production base and we are very happy to export our RHD Oshan X7 SUV from Pakistan”, Steven Zhao – Vice CEO Master Changan Motors Limited stated.

#Pakistan Manufactured 9.72m #MobilePhones Locally in First 4 months of 2022. 53 % of mobile devices are #smartphones and 47 % are 2G. Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.810 billion in first 10 months of FY22 compared to $1.684 billion in FY21 https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/locally-manufactured-phones-2022/

In the month of April, the units manufactured/assembled 2.56 million mobile phones against 0.25 million imports. In 2021, Pakistan has manufactured/assembled 24.66 million mobile phones locally as compared to 13.05 million in 2020.


The country also witnesses a decline in the imports of mobile phones. In 2021, the country imported 10.26 million mobile phones compared to 24.51 million in 2020.

Among the 9.72 million mobile phones, 5.69 million are 2G and 4.03 million are smartphones. According to PTA data, 53 % of mobile devices are smartphones and 47 % are 2G on the Pakistan network.

Although the industry has seen significant growth in mobile phone production, still we are lagging behind in some terms. For instance, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.810 billion during the first ten months (July-April) of 2021-22 compared to $1.684 billion during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 7.43 per cent.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the overall telecom import increased by 14.05 per cent from (July-April) 2021 to 22.

Can #Pakistan become the next #tech #manufacturing hub? #Samsung is now assembling all its top #smartphones, except for the foldable Z-Series, in Pakistan. Pak can save some of over $2 billion spent on #mobile #phone imports last year.#technology @TRTWorld https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/can-pakistan-become-the-next-tech...

A number of smartphone companies, including Samsung, have set up assembly plants in Pakistan in the past year. But this nascent industry is facing local challenges.
Along a dusty pot-holed road in Korangi industrial estate, one of Karachi’s designated factory zones, sewage runs in open drains, rag pickers collect plastic bottles, and car mechanics sweat at makeshift workshops.

It’s a June day with a temperature topping 35 degrees Celsius. Tempers flare up easily. Trucks loaded with textiles and chemicals zoom past, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

Incessant and prolonged electricity breakdowns mean many factory workers are sleep-deprived. Few can afford to lose daily wages in Pakistan, where the government struggles to bring in much-needed foreign investment to stabilise its fragile economy.

But amid this chaos, men and women donning blue and pink coats and special slippers walk through a passageway of one of the factories where a ventilation system blows dust specks off their clothes before they enter a long corridor flanked by different workstations. This is where Premier Code, a Pakistani company, manufactures smartphones.

“We need to be very careful about the environment in which we work. Karachi’s weather is different. There’s a lot of dust. So we make sure everything is clean. Our workers are not even allowed to bring water bottles where the phones are assembled,” says Nauman Amjad, the factory manager.

“We import parts from China and then assemble them here. But we have our own SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), which employees follow to put the components together,” he tells TRT World.

Workers skillfully attach charging jacks and cameras to the motherboard as the phones — known as Dcode in the market — move along the assembly line. Plumes of cold air seep out of air humidifiers placed at various workstations.

Just a few years back, all mobile phones in Pakistan were imported. That changed two years ago when the then-government introduced a policy incentivising local assembly of the phones via tax rebates and other measures.

In 2021, local manufacturers produced 24.66 million handsets and imports drastically decreased, according to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the industry regulator.

Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, now assembles all its top brands, except for the foldable Z-Series, locally.

Local manufacturing and contract assembly mean Islamabad can slow the drain on its foreign exchange reserves. Pakistanis spent more than $2 billion on importing cell phones last year.

A high import bill and debt repayments have depleted official coffers and forced policymakers to try and negotiate a loan with the IMF.

With more than 114 million 3G and 4G subscribers, Pakistan has a large young population hooked on apps like TikTok and PUBG, which has increased the demand for smartphones.

Imposition of high tax on the import of mobile phone sets and tax rebates for local assembly has encouraged investment, according to industry professionals.

The PTA has issued licences to more than two dozen companies to assemble phones for the domestic market.

Contract manufacturing, wherein large brands such China’s Xiaomi outsource the assembly of phones to companies in countries like Vietnam, is not new.

Vietnam has emerged as one of the leading countries in the assembly and export of smartphones and other tech products in the past decade.

Apple recently moved part of its iPad manufacturing to Vietnam from China, where Covid lockdowns have disrupted supply chains.

In Pakistan, Samsung’s local outsourcing contractor is Lucky Motors, which assembles KIA cars and is part of a large business conglomerate.

“It’s only in the last five to seven years that the smartphone business has mushroomed in developing countries like ours,” says Quentin D’Silva, the head of Lucky's smartphone division, adding that smartphone usage has surged in the country following the introduction of 3G and 4G cellular services in 2014.

A matter of training

When D’Silva was helping set up the assembly unit in Bin Qasim, a special economic zone on the fringes of Karachi, he and his team had to follow Samsung's strict guidelines to uphold its manufacturing standards.

“My production manager, who worked for Reckitt Benckiser, visited a Samsung facility in Indonesia and he tells me they run it like a pharmaceutical company,” where extreme hygiene and cleanliness standards are maintained, he says.

A smartphone like Samsung’s S22 comprises thousands of intricate components such as chipsets designed and manufactured at sophisticated facilities in South Korea and a handful of other countries.

Putting the components together is the relatively easy part. Workers can be trained over a few weeks to follow the SOPs of Apple or Samsung correctly. Motor skills and speed are built gradually over time.

A bigger challenge in a country like Pakistan was changing the mindset of the nearly 700 people the company employs, says D’Silva.

“I’m not going to oversimplify the assembly part. But the training starts off with the concept of quality,” he asserts.

Customer satisfaction is a top priority for the South Korean tech giant and that means workers need to make sure the finished product is packed neatly without even a bubble of air or a speck of dust on its wrapping, he notes.

Samsung started production in Pakistan late last year and between January and May, 2022, it produced 1.2 million smartphones, including the S22 Ultra, the latest in the series.

Depending on the model, it takes workers between 13 and 18 seconds to put together a Samsung phone as it moves along an assembly line, according to D’Silva

"Our production drops if, for instance, our workers go for lunch and are 10 minutes late. That’s where the discipline comes in.”

Moving beyond

Mobile phone assembly in Pakistan picked up its pace two years ago when the government increased taxes on smartphone imports. Simultaneously, the local industry was encouraged to import spare parts and assemble them domestically for the local market.

More recently, mobile phone imports have been banned as Islamabad tries to halt the rupee depreciation — one of the consequences of imports outweighing the revenue from exports.

Contract manufacturing generates employment and cuts down imports. But some local companies want to create brands and design their own products in the long run.

Premier Code says it’s investing approximately two to four percent of its revenue on research and development to gear up for the future.

“It’s not possible to localise production of all the components. Only a handful of companies make LCDs (the screens). Chipset manufacturing is primarily done in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the US and to a lesser extent in China,” says Muhammad Naqi, Premier Code’s CEO.

His company focuses on the design side of things, such as the layout of the printed circuit boards (PCBs), investing in proprietary software and the exterior look of the phones.

At the company’s factory, Dcode mobiles are subject to strict testing. Random samples are picked from each finished batch to undergo a durability test, which includes dropping spherical metal balls onto the phone’s screen and then dropping the device on the marble floor.

Naqi says his company is not a contract manufacturer. “We want to develop our own brand and products at the same time” — even if the components are shipped from elsewhere.

Pakistani companies have been building PCBs — the green-coloured boards on which chips and resistors are mounted — for years for appliances such as televisions and air conditioners.

“But you need to understand that their layout is really big. When it comes to smartphones, it's a very small layout, which requires precision engineering. Our machines are not able to do that,” says Naqi.

High-tech machines used for making PCBs for mobile phones will mean higher capital costs and a thin factory workforce — undermining a vital goal of the government's policy, which is to create employment.

Nevertheless, a few tech companies are trying to challenge that view. One of them is located not far from Premier Code’s facility.

All about small steps

Elite Lighting manufactures parts for LED lights. Their products are nowhere close to the technologically advanced components that smartphone manufacturing requires.

But Yousuf Farooq, a young director at the company, has big dreams.

“Pakistan imports 100 million LED lights annually. It’s a huge market that we can capture,” he says.

Founded in November 2020, the company designs and fabricates PCBs for things like LED lights, watches and circuits that go into petrol pump dispensers.

“People were importing LED parts and putting them together here. We said, “Why don’t we build them here?”

At his 50-employee factory, workers place blue and black cylindrical components on the PCBs and solder them together. Known as ‘through-hole components’ such as resistors and capacitors, they are mostly imported from China.

But Farooq says his company can make them locally as the company grows and more orders come in.

“We started off by placing 9,000 components an hour on the PCBs. Now we can place 25,000 components. Almost all our workers were unskilled. We trained them over a period of 6 months.”

The Pakistani rupee’s depreciation, which has involved a 30 percent loss against the US dollar since July 2021, has made it feasible for local manufacturers to compete with importers.

LED light sellers pay their Chinese suppliers 60 to 90 days before the shipments arrive, says Farooq.

“Imagine if we can deliver the same product in 15 days and we deal in cash. So what has happened is that it improves the cash cycle of our customers.”

“Our customer can also just walk into my office and talk to me if something goes wrong. He doesn’t have to worry about learning Chinese,” he chuckles.

Rising wages in China have also made local manufacturers competitive. On average, Lucky and Premier pay between Rs30,00 and Rs35,000 (around $165) a month to their workers.

But the nascent industry is already facing a crisis. In recent weeks, banks have refused to extend credit which companies need to import components. That’s because of the fast-depleting foreign currency reserves that Islamabad is trying to preserve.

Lucky Motors, Samsung’s contract assembler, hasn’t been able to manufacture a single phone in almost a month.

“To say that Samsung people are upset is going to be an understatement,” says D’Silva, the CEO.

Pakistan’s Mobile Imports Decline by 4% to $1.9 Billion in FY22

https://propakistani.pk/2022/07/20/pakistans-mobile-imports-decline...

Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.978 billion during the fiscal year 2021–22 compared to $2.065 billion during the same period last year, registering a negative growth of 4.19 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The overall telecom imports into the country during the period under review, i.e., fiscal year 2021–22, increased by 3.52 percent by going up from $2.593 billion in June–July 2020–21 to $2.684 billion during the same period last year.

On a month-on-month basis, imports of mobile phones into Pakistan decreased by 76.52 percent during June 2022 and stood at $32.221 million when compared to $137.213 million imported in May 2022, according to the PBS data.

Furthermore, on a year-on-year basis, mobile phones witnessed an 84.26 percent negative growth when compared to $204.677 million in June 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the overall telecom imports into the country decreased by 52.80 percent during June 2022 and stood at $86.843 million, when compared to the imports of $183.985 million in May 2022.

Likewise, on a year-on-year basis, overall telecom imports witnessed 66.11 percent negative growth when compared to $256.255 million in June 2021. Other apparatus imports during July-June 2021-22 increased by 33.65 percent and stood at $705.945 million compared to $528.190 million in July-June 2020-21.

Other apparatus imports registered 16.78 percent growth on a month-on-month basis and stood at $54.622 million in June 2022 compared to $46.772 million in May 2022 and registered 5.90 percent growth when compared to $51.578 million in June 2022.

Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE)
@PIDEpk
Pakistan’s mobile phone manufacturing industry has shown its potential to increase domestic production of
handsets, after implementation of new Mobile Devise Manufacturing Policy (2020) & Devise Identification Registration & Blocking System
PIDE KB: https://pide.org.pk/research/from-imports-to-exports-an-achievement...

https://twitter.com/PIDEpk/status/1554012708273545216?s=20&t=LW...

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The mobile device manufacturing is one of the top five industries in the world that plays an important role in impelling economic growth. Pakistan has a huge market for mobile phones but majority of those handsets were being imported in Pakistan since 2020-21 (table 2). Almost 51% increase in imports of handsets was observed in FY 2020-21 (PBS). Side by side, Pakistan’s trade sector discovered some potential and tried its best to encourage Mobile phone industry to be able to become an exporter through certain quick reforms. To serve the purpose, Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (2020) set three key targets: Localization, Production and Exports (See figure 4[1]). The right policy measures showed fruitful results and Pakistan became an exporter of handsets (see figure 1).


Initial data evidence shows an enormous accomplishment as the country was mainly an importer of mobile phones till 2021 and almost importing mobile phones of worth $2,065 billion in 2020-21(PBS). After realizing potential in market, the country decided to move towards exports of mobile phones and recently managed to export 5,500 units of 4G smart mobile sets to UAE (Haider, 2021)[2].

Government of Pakistan assessed potential in mobile phone manufacturing and decided to provide a policy framework that aims essentially to promote local manufacturing of PTA approved mobile devices in country. The “Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020” addressed the central issues faced by mobile device manufacturers and to provide an attractive tariff environment over the policy period, besides other non-tariff[4] initiatives to promote “Make in Pakistan” strategy for mobile devices.

Import Data Facts:
Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $2.065 billion during 2020-21 compared to $1.369 billion during 2019-20, showing growth of 50.75 percent. The overall telecom imports into the country during the period under review (July-June) 2020-21 increased by 39.33 percent by going up from $1.861 billion in 2019-20 to $2.593 billion during 2020-21. The manufacturers produced 12.27 million mobile phones while importers brought in almost 8.29m units during 2021[5].


Pakistan has a benefit of low-cost labor availability, a fairly large home market having more than 178 million subscribers, which have increased approximately “1 percent” per month during last year alone, 83.3 percent tele-density and useful Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS)[6]. DIRBS has not directly resulted in export of mobile handsets but Pakistan provides an attractive arena/ market for in house mobile assembling. Initiating of DIRBS has become very advantageous in terms of encouraging legal imports and local manufacturing.

Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (2020) Policy targets:
The Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy set a 49 percent localization target by June 2023, including 10 percent localization of parts of the motherboard and 10 percent localization of batteries. Currently Pakistan is concentrating on low-end mobile phone sets and soon expected to be able to start getting into high-end phones with world class companies .
After achieving a milestone in manufacturing, Pakistan is trying exports to regional countries and Africa. one or two containers have already moved out of the country. Pakistan is looking forward to target markets in Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics and Africa, UAE (figure 4) and then more diversification into the higher end market. The target is to penetrate low-end of export market and move up the value chain.

From Imports To Exports – An Achievement Of Mobile Phone Industry


https://pide.org.pk/research/from-imports-to-exports-an-achievement...

Policy Outcome and Achievements in Manufacturing Sector and Exports:
The role of public sector policy initiatives cannot be ignored in providing a boost to this sector. Factors for mobile phones rising demand may be manifold. Broadly it is due to the mobile phone policy incentives, reduction in taxes, recent changed work style and educational online trends, preference of new technology, ease in usage and time saving etc. The policy has targeted investment in the sector and investment policy outcome is clear with the evidence of key new mobile phone investors in the country (figure 5). Recently, after the first effective consignment of 4G smartphones to the UAE in 2022, the government has now fixed mobile phone export target at $1 billion for the current FY, connecting it with the incentives offered to local manufacturers.[7]

Recently several mobile set manufacturers have expressed willingness for investing in Pakistan. Samsung, one of these manufacturers that has partnered with Lucky Cement Limited to set up an assembly plant for locally manufacturing the smart mobile phones. According to PTA , almost 26 companies have been issued MDM authorization enabling them to manufacture mobile devices in Pakistan. The companies include renowned brands e.g. Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, TECNO, Infinix, Vgotel, Q-mobile and others.

Various Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are already investing in Pakistan and have played a key role in Pakistan’s mobile phone industry’s output boom in 2021. The Itel company has managed to manufacture 3.91 million mobile devices followed by VGO Tel at 2.97 million, Infinix 2.65 million Vivo 2.45 million, Techno 1.87 million, QQMEE 0.86 million and Oppo 0.67 million (Source: PTA). The situation is encouraging and will help the nation in achieving the goal of exporting and sustainable development as well as making Pakistan a global exporter of mobile devices.

Local production increased

Big success of Mobile phone manufacturing in 2021
Pakistan has become 4G exporter
Exported the rst badge of 1500 locally manufactured smartphones to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Investment in market/Chinese players

About 3.91 million mobile devices manufactured by Itel
VGO Tel manfacturing was at 2.97 million, In nix 2.65 million Vivo 2.45 million, Techno 1.87 million, QQMEE 0.86 million and Oppo 0.67 million (Source:PTA)
Local manufacturing capacity increased

Local manufacturing plants assembled 9.03 million smartphones while the number of 2G mobile phones was 13.09 million
Pakistani phone manufacturers are now assembling major brands
Attracting investment

“Make in Pakistan” policy attracted investors to contribute for the development of electronic eco-system
New Firms entering in the market
New rms will o er good quality, low-priced mobile handset devices
The Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations of January 2021 encouraged manufacturers to establish their
units in Pakistan.
Employment for youth

Employment opportunities for talented youth and to local technical and semi-technical manpower
By increasing localization, production, and exports Pakistan will create further 200,000 to half million jobs
in the country
Conclusions

Pakistan’s mobile phone industry showed an achievement.
Handsets production increased with implementing new mobile phone manufacturing policy(2020) and efficient implementation of DIRBS.
Due to investments/incentives, the country has managed to become an exporter of 4 G handsets.

From Imports To Exports – An Achievement Of Mobile Phone Industry


https://pide.org.pk/research/from-imports-to-exports-an-achievement...


Conclusions

Pakistan’s mobile phone industry showed an achievement.
Handsets production increased with implementing new mobile phone manufacturing policy(2020) and efficient implementation of DIRBS.
Due to investments/incentives, the country has managed to become an exporter of 4 G handsets.
Correspondingly, being an exporter, there will be a boost in the digital economy through providing mobile services particularly in the form of mobile broadband and hence; enhancing export revenue, digital connectivity, ecosystem & innovation.
The handset manufacturers are determined to meet the challenge of localization, production, and exports which will not only create jobs in the country but will improve export competitiveness.
Recommendations

Introducing policies and efficient DIRBS has restored investors’ confidence to invest in Pakistan. A sustainability should be made to keep DIRBS running effectively.
Pakistan must keep interacting with new investor/firms and offer policy incentives (whenever needed) to let them stay in the market.
Pakistan needs to set production and export target for mobile phones in comming years.
Domestic market of mobile phones needs to be established by some incentives, & ease of doing business. Any necessary policy change must be timely introduced to get full benefit out of it.
For Mobile phone manufacturing, proper value chain needs to be developed.
Concluding Remarks:
Pakistan’s mobile phone manufacturing industry has shown its potential to increase domestic production of handsets, after implementation of new Mobile Devise Manufacturing Policy (2020) and Devise Identification Registration and Blocking System. Through new investments/incentives and DIRBS the country has managed to create favorable business environment and hence Pakistan become an exporter. This encouraging development will promote the exports of handsets in future. Correspondingly, being an exporter, there will be a boost in the digital economy through providing mobile services particularly in the form of mobile broadband and hence; enhancing export revenue, digital connectivity, ecosystem & innovation. The handset manufacturers are determined to meet the policy challenges of localization, production, and exports which will not only create jobs in the country but will improve export competitiveness. Introducing successful policies and efficient DIRBS has restored investors’ confidence to invest in Pakistan.

It is recommended that Pakistan must keep interacting with new mobile phone manufacturing investor/firms and offer policy incentives (whenever needed) to let them stay in the market. Domestic market of mobile phones needs to be established by provision of facilities incentives, investment & ease of doing business. Any necessary policy change must be timely introduced to get full benefit out of it. For handset manufacturing, proper value chain needs to be developed. A sustainability should be made to keep DIRBS running effectively.

PTA confirms 14 Million mobile phones manufactured locally during Jan-Jun 2022


https://www.phoneworld.com.pk/14-million-mobile-phones-manufactured...


According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, 14.08 million mobile phones manufactured during the first six months (January-June) of 2022, compared to 1.14 million imported commercially (PTA).


In June 2022, local manufacturing plants produced/assembled 1.67 million mobile phone devices. Local manufacturing facilities produced 24.66 million mobile phone handsets in calendar year 2021, up from 13.05 million in 2020, representing an 88 percent increase. According to PTA data, commercial imports of mobile phone handsets rose at 10.26 million in 2021, up from 24.51 million in 2020.

The 14.08 million mobile phones manufactured/assembled domestically include 8.06 million 2G and 6.02 million smartphones. According to PTA data, 54 percent of mobile devices in Pakistan are smartphones, while 46 percent are 2G.Overall telecom imports into the country surged by 3.52 percent over the time under evaluation, from $2.593 billion in July-June 2020-21 to $2.684 billion during the same period last year.

The effective implementation of the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS), in conjunction with supportive government regulations, such as the mobile manufacturing policy, has provided a favorable climate for mobile device manufacture in Pakistan.

It has also benefited Pakistan’s mobile ecosystem by minimizing the bogus device market, creating a fair playing field for commercial organizations, and building consumer trust through the development of standardized legal routes for all types of device imports.

The cumulative market share of the six major players (in mica tape insulation) is near about 40%. These market players are involved in collaborations, mergers & acquisitions, and new product launches to strengthen their market presence. For instance, in May 2021, Mica Corporation expanded its global distribution network to support growth factors in Pakistan. The company extended its market presence through this development.


https://shanghai.ist/2022/08/02/mica-tape-for-insulation-market-opp...


Astute Analytica released a new research report on the global Mica Tape for Insulation Market. The global market study looks into a variety of subjects, such as opportunities, market size, development, innovation, sales, and the overall growth of top players.

The global mica tape for insulation market held a market value of US$ 167.2 Million in 2021 and is forecasted to reach US$ 200.1 Million by the year 2027. The market is expected to register a CAGR of 3% during the forecast period.

The study incorporates both qualitative and quantitative data and draws on both primary and secondary statistical sources. Significant companies, important market categories, and a range of products are included in the global market report. In addition, the report covers the measurement years and the study points.

Growth Influencers:

Increasing application of mica electrical insulation in consumer electronics

Mica tape is quite commonly used in everyday appliances and consumer electronics. Since the product is very easy to shape, it is apt for mass production of components. This also allows electronic manufacturers to ensure meeting the strict safety standards, associated with consumer electronics. Furthermore, mica tape’s versatility is also suited for small form factors, which is required, as demand for greater performance in consumer electronics needs to be balanced with considerations regarding weight, design, and size.

Favorable government initiatives to promote the semiconductor industry

Various government initiatives to develop the semiconductor industry are expected to drive market growth. For instance, in the Union Budget of 2017-18, the government of India increased the allocation for incentive schemes, such as the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) and the Electronic Department Fund (EDF), to USD 111 million. To ensure further investments, reduce dependence on imports, and create employment opportunities, the government amended the M-SIPS in 2020 and approved new incentives for investors, worth USD 1.47 billion. Such initiatives by government organizations to boost the semiconductor industry are expected to drive the market growth of mica tape for the insulation market.

Pakistan Exports 120,000 Locally Manufactured Mobile Phones

https://propakistani.pk/2022/12/14/pakistan-exports-120000-locally-...

The export ceremony of locally manufactured mobile phones by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Authorization holder Inovi Telecom was held at PTA headquarters today.

The ceremony was held to mark Inovi’s achievement of the export of 120,000 locally made mobile phones of the SEGO brand to the United Arab Emirates for African markets.


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Inovi Telecom is the first company to export locally manufactured mobile phones in large quantities. Inovi’s CEO appreciated PTA for its active support and for taking measures to help bolster the mobile industry. Moreover, both PTA Members extended their continued support for the development of a mobile device manufacturing ecosystem in Pakistan.

Inovi Telecom Pvt. Ltd was issued Mobile Device Manufacturing Authorization on 9th April 2021 in accordance with the PTA Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations, 2021.

#Pakistan Made Nearly 20 Million #MobilePhones in 11 Months of CY2022. Last year (CY 2021) Pakistan assembled/manufactured 24.66 million compared to 13.05 million in 2020 – an 88 percent jump. #manufacturing #smartphones https://propakistani.pk/2022/12/26/pakistan-made-nearly-20-million-...

The local manufacturing plants manufactured/assembled 1.56 million mobile phone handsets in November 2022.

The manufactured/assembled mobile phone handsets by local manufacturing plants during the calendar year 2021 stood at 24.66 million compared to 13.05 million in 2020 – a landmark increase of 88 percent.

The commercial imports of mobile phone handsets stood at 10.26 million in 2021 compared to 24.51 million in 2020, revealed the official data of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The locally manufactured/assembled 19.7 million mobile phones handsets included 11.5 million 2G and 8.2 million smartphones.

Besides, as per the PTA data, 55 percent of mobile devices are smartphones, and 45 percent are 2G on the Pakistan network.

However, despite the increase in the local production of mobile phones, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $290.570 million during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year 2022-23, registering a negative growth of 66.08 percent when compared to $856.730 million during the same period of last year.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data shows that on a month-on-month (MoM) basis mobile phone imports registered 1.92 percent negative growth and stood at $64.520 million in November 2022 when compared to $65.780 million in October 2022.

Mobile phone imports registered 69.57 percent negative growth on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in November 2022 when compared to $212.058 million during the same month of last year. The overall telecom imports into the country stood at $455.731 million during the first five months of the fiscal year 2022-23 and registered 59.67 percent negative growth when compared to $1.130 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.


The successful implementation of the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) along with conducive government policies including the mobile manufacturing policy has created a favorable environment for mobile device manufacturing in Pakistan.

Both FoxConn and Wistron assembling iPhones in India are Taiwanese companies. Almost all of the components are imported. Local value addition in India is about 10%.

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iPhone Exports from India Double to Surpass $2.5 Billion


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-09/iphone-exports-f...

Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp. have each shipped more than $1 billion of Apple’s marquee devices abroad in the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2023, people familiar with the matter said. Pegatron Corp., another major contract manufacturer for Apple, is on track to move about $500 million of the gadgets overseas by the end of January, the people said, asking not to be identified revealing private information.

Apple’s rapidly growing export numbers illustrate how it is ramping up operations outside of China, where chaos at Foxconn’s main plant in Zhengzhou exposed vulnerabilities in the Cupertino-headquartered company’s supply chain and forced it to trim output estimates. That compounded a broader problem with evaporating demand for electronics as consumers weigh the risks of a global recession.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, began assembling its latest iPhone models in India only last year, a significant break from its practice of reserving much of that for giant Chinese factories run by its main Taiwanese assemblers including Foxconn.

While India makes up just a fraction of iPhone output, rising exports bode well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to make the country an alternative to China as factory to the world.

China’s Covid Zero policies and an episode of violence at the Zhengzhou plant — nicknamed iPhone City as the world’s biggest production center for the device — laid bare the dangers of relying on the country. While Beijing has since dropped that approach to containing the virus, Apple and other global names are exploring alternative locations more than ever before.

India’s vast workforce, Modi’s support and a thriving local market make it a prime candidate to take on more electronics manufacturing. Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, began building facilities in the country more than five years ago in anticipation of a need to extend its geographic range.

One recent selling point is a raft of new government incentives, a cornerstone of Modi’s drive to make India an electronics manufacturing hub. Foxconn has won 3.6 billion rupees ($44 million) of benefits in the first year of the so-called production-linked incentives scheme, while Wistron’s claims are currently being processed, the people said.


Representatives for Apple, Foxconn and Wistron didn’t respond to emails seeking comment. A Pegatron spokesperson declined to comment.

Apple’s contract manufacturers currently make iPhones at plants in southern India. But production in the country is just beginning. About 3 million of the devices were made in India in 2021, compared with 230 million in China, according to Bloomberg Intelligence estimates.

Foxconn began making the iPhone 14 in India a few months ago — sooner than anticipated — after a surprisingly smooth production rollout that slashed the lag between Chinese and Indian output from months to mere weeks. Apple’s three Taiwanese partners currently assemble iPhones 11 to 14 in India.

But moving out of China, where Apple has built a deep supply chain for close to two decades, isn’t easy. A Bloomberg Intelligence analysis estimated it would take about eight years to move just 10% of Apple’s production capacity out of China, where roughly 98% of the company’s iPhones are being made.

India tracks production and exports of all smartphone makers who enjoy financial incentives as part of Modi’s push.

Beyond smartphones, the country is drawing up plans to boost financial incentives for tablet and laptop makers, hoping to woo Apple to make everything from earphones to MacBooks locally as well as attract other brands. The iPhone maker is also expected to open its first retail store in India in 2023, after meeting certain criteria imposed on foreign retailers.

Mobile policy attracts 36 companies to manufacture smartphones in the country

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/01/23/mobile-policy-attrac...


Like the auto industry in Pakistan, the mobile phone industry has also attracted at least 36 companies to manufacture/assemble smartphones under the policies introduced by the government in 2020.

According to officials, the ‘Make in Pakistan’ policy introduced by the previous Imran Khan government has resulted in the establishment of 31 companies which manufacture a great number of renowned international mobile phone brands in the country.

As per the data, local manufacturing plants have manufactured over 19.7 million phone handsets during the first 11 months of 2022 compared to just 1.37 million commercially imported phone handsets. Data provided by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reveals that the local manufacturing plants assembled 1.56 million mobile phone handsets in November 2022

Despite the increase in local production, the country imported mobile phones worth $ 290.57 million during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year 2022-23. However, this was a decrease of 66.08 percent when compared to the imports of the same period last year at $ 856.73 million.

To review further expansion and issues related to the newly flourishing industry, the Ministry of Industries & Production (MoI&P) will hold a mobile device manufacturing summit on Tuesday (today). As per the officials of the Engineering Development Board (EDB), the relevant department of the MoI&P is jointly organising the summit in collaboration with the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association.

The summit will be addressed by the Federal Minister for Board of Investment, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, and will also include an exhibition of technology and products by the members of association including Xiaomi, Realmi, Infinix, Tecno, Itel, Alcatel, G-Five, Oppo, Vivo, Premier Code etc. The exhibition will be open for targeted general public.

According to officials, the purpose of organising this summit-cum-exhibition is to get input from all the relevant stakeholders which includes mobile device manufacturers, government officials from MoI&P, PTA, Ministry of Commerce, National Tariff Commission, Board of Investment, Ministry of IT & Telecom, Federal Board of Revenue and academia to boost local assembly of mobile devices through enhancing investment and employment opportunities in this sector.

The summit will focus on the localisation of parts and components used in mobile manufacturing, localisation of allied equipment like laptops and tablets, targeting export of mobile phones and promoting ease of doing business in Pakistan. The mobile device manufacturing sector is expected to benefit from this summit as it will facilitate further collaborations with international counterparts which can enhance the competitiveness of the sector.

The mobile device manufacturing policy was formulated by EDB in 2020 with the aim to promote local manufacturing of mobile devices in Pakistan and to provide an attractive environment for investors under the “Make in Pakistan” policy of the government.

According to data by PTA, 55 percent of the mobile devices in the country are smart phones while the remaining 45 percent are on 2G Pakistan network.

Business Recorder
@brecordernews
Indus Motor Company, the assembler of Toyota-brand vehicles in Pakistan, said on Tuesday that it has become the first company in the four-wheeler segment to start exports after it signed an agreement with Toyota Egypt.

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Agreement signed, Ali Asghar Jamali says 'too early' to deem it turning point for struggling auto sector


“We have already sent our first shipment this month,” Chief Executive Ali Asghar Jamali told Business Recorder.

A press release issued by the company also stated that the first consignment of semi-processed raw material to be shipped to Toyota Egypt will mark the “beginning of era from the export point of view by any original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in Pakistan and plans are in place to continue in this direction”.

Jamali said that while significant, it is “too early” to deem it a turning point for the struggling industry.

His remarks come as Pakistan’s auto sector, highly dependent on imports to meet its assembling needs, remains under pressure due to constraints on issuance of Letters of Credit (LCs). The hindrance comes on the back of Pakistan’s low foreign exchange reserves that triggered import restrictions.

While the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has lifted restrictions, it will take some time before normalcy returns.

At the same time, a fast-depreciating rupee pushed up prices of automobiles while runaway inflation also took Pakistan’s key interest rate to a record high, discouraging buyers from financing. In response, almost all auto sector’s players have been announcing plant shutdowns with regular monotony.

“This is a baby step at the moment,” said Jamali. “Currently, we have raw material constraints in the country. It would stop us from exporting huge quantities. But I am hopeful.”

The CEO said the company will only be exporting a certain part to Egypt.

“If their confidence is built, we may be asked to export more parts.

“Even if we manage to export one part to many markets, it would increase our export numbers.

“We hope that other manufacturers would also get confidence and find avenues to export as well,” he added.

A statement from the company, meanwhile, said the partnership with Toyota Egypt “is the first step to meet requirements set under the Auto Industry Development and Export Policy (AIDEP) 2021-2026”.

Pakistan Manufactured 4.88 Million Mobile Phones in First 5 Months of 2023

https://propakistani.pk/2023/07/10/pakistan-manufactured-4-88-milli...

The country imported mobile phones worth $516.488 million during the first eleven months (July-May) of the current fiscal year 2022-23, registering a negative growth of 73.46 percent when compared to $1.946 billion during the same period of last year.

Pakistan’s mobile phone imports increased by 308 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in May 2023 and stood at $43.201 million compared to imports of $10.587 million in April 2023, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Mobile phone imports registered 68.52 percent negative growth on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in May 2023 when compared to $137.212 million in May 2022.

The overall telecom imports into the country stood at $860.441 million during July-May 2023 and registered 66.87 percent negative growth compared to $2.597 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

Revenue in Pakistan Laptops market amounts to US$0.88bn in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 5.52% (CAGR 2023-2028).
In global comparison, most revenue is generated in China (US$23,250.00m in 2023).
In relation to total population figures, per person revenues of US$3.75 are generated in 2023.
In the Laptops market, volume is expected to amount to 1.54m pieces by 2028. The Laptops market is expected to show a volume growth of 2.5% in 2024.
The average volume per person in the Laptops market is expected to amount to 0.01pieces in 2023.

https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/consumer-electronics/computing...