Local mobile production units make 7.24M smartphones

Islamabad: Local mobile phone production units established in the country have manufactured about 7.24 million smartphones and created 26,000 jobs from January to September 2022.

According to an annual report of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), its wider impact on the economy has manifested in the shape of a newly established mobile ecosystem, the emergence of the local handset manufacturing industry, job creation, investments by global mobile manufacturers, increased government revenues, and 100% registration of handsets across all cellular networks of Pakistan.

Commercial imports of 1.24 million have been taken over by local manufacturing, which stands at 16.70 million.

PTA issued the Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations 2021, which enable companies to obtain MDM authorization for 10 years.

As many as 30 authorizations have been issued so far. The list includes international brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Nokia, Oppo, Vivo, Techno, and Infinix, and local brands like VGO Tel and E-Tachi, among others.

Today, 30 local plants in Pakistan are manufacturing features and smartphones, not just for local market consumption but export purposes also.

For the first time in Pakistan’s history, the import volume of ‘Completely Built Up’ (CBU) phones in 2021 registered a decline as most of the local demand was catered to locally manufactured products.