Our vision is to make Pakistan a hub of mobile phone manufacturing and export: Dawood

Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood said that the import of parts for local mobile assembly has increased by 407% while the import of completed mobile phones has fallen over 70%, which has resulted in savings of $410 million in foreign exchange.

Under the current policy, mobile manufacturers are incentivized through tariffs to assemble mobile phones in the country. In particular, the majority of phones being assembled in the country are below the $200 price point as that targets the largest section of the buyer’s market. The market value of local phones increased from $133 million last year to $674 million in the current fiscal year, reported Dawood.

Along with saving on foreign exchange, the construction of mobile phones within Pakistan is creating employment, the commerce adviser added.

Data by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority showed that during the first 10 months of this year, 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 45 million.

“All over the world, smartphones have now become a necessity as many SMEs now run their businesses on mobile phones. At the start of this government, Pakistan was a net importer of mobile phones but the situation has now been reversed and jobs are also being created in this sector,” he stated.

China controls about half the market share of locally manufactured cellphones as it jumped on the government incentives to obtain the first mover’s advantage. However, Samsung, one of the large mobile manufacturers in the world, formally started its production within Pakistan last week.

“Our vision is to make Pakistan a hub of mobile phone manufacturing and export. The export of mobile phones will soon start that will earn foreign exchange for the country,” Dawood maintained.