Pakistan’s mobile phone industry thrives with Chinese company involvement

Local Assembly/Manufactured top 10 mobile brands in Pakistan. Source: PTA  

ISLAMABAD, Aug 8 (Gwadar Pro) - Since the launch of the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy 2020 (MDMP-2020), Pakistan has significantly advanced its local mobile phone manufacturing industry. As a result, since July 2020, the share of locally assembled/manufactured mobile phones has sharply risen, with the vast majority of the mobile phones sold in the country now being “made in Pakistan”.

“The share of locally manufactured mobile phones has sharply risen and currently almost 95% of all mobile phones sold in Pakistan are “made in Pakistan”, Aamir Allawala, Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association (PMPMA), during an exclusive interview, told Gwadar Pro.

He said that most of the global big brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Samsung, ZTE, Vivo, Tecno, Infinix, iTel, Nokia, Realme, etc are being produced in the country.

According to Mr. Allawala, the reason for this transformation from import to local production is the 15% gap in duties and taxes between complete mobile phones vs their parts/components. “However, the industry is disturbed that this gap is now below 10%, due to which the import of complete mobile phones will start increasing this year,” he said.

As per the MDMP-2020, “Chinese investors are looking for an alternate manufacturing base---Pakistan can become a hub for Chinese manufacturers if an attractive policy and predictability are ensured for at least five years.” So the MDMP policy was envisaged with goals such as technology acquisition and localization of mobile devices through local investment, joint ventures, partnerships, and to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). It also aimed to create multiple direct and indirect jobs and reduce prices for consumers.

According to Aamir Allawala, over the past four years, a total of 40,000 direct and indirect jobs have been created, and the “industry is looking up to the prospects of relocating the Chinese mobile phone industry to Pakistan for export of mobile phones.”

As per Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)’s latest statistics, Pakistan locally assembled and manufactured a total of 17.34 million mobile phone sets in the first half of 2024 while during the same period, the country merely imported 0.84 million smartphones.

The PTA’s statistics show that of the 17.34 million mobile phones manufactured in Pakistan, 11.15 million were smartphones while 6.19 million were Second Generation Mobile (2G)/GSM phones.

The data highlights a significant shift towards smartphones from GSM phones in 2024. In comparison, in 2023, Pakistan locally manufactured or assembled a total of 21.8 million phones, which included 13 million 2G phones and 6.19 million smartphones. In the first six months of 2024 alone, the country produced 11.15 million smartphones, nearly doubling the total smartphone production of the entire previous year.

Chinese companies continue to spearhead the mobile phone manufacturing sector in Pakistan. From January to June 2024, several Chinese brands led the market. Infinix manufactured/assembled 2.49 million smart phones, TECNO 1.89 million phones, iTel 1.83 million phones, VGO TEL 1.80 million phones, VIVO 1.68 million phones, Redmi (Xiaomi) 1.59 million phones and Realmi 1 million phones. The Finnish’s Nokia assembled 0.81 million phones, while Chinese brands Oppo and G’FIVE manufactured 0.61 million and 0.56 million phones, respectively, securing the ninth and tenth positions among the top phone producers.