The production of mobile handsets by local manufacturing plants during the calendar year 2021 stood at 24.66 million compared to 13.05 million in 2020, registering an increase of 88 percent.
The commercial imports of mobile handsets stood at 10.26 million in 2021 compared to 24.51 million in 2020, according to the official data of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) available with Propakistani.
The number of locally manufactured/assembled mobile handsets increased by 2.54 million in December 2021 and the total production reached 24.66 million in the calendar year.
The production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has more than doubled against the import of commercial mobile phones in the country during 2021.
However, despite the increase in the local production of mobile phones, Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.09 billion during the first half (July-December) of the fiscal year 2021 compared to $938.82 million during the same period last year, registering a growth of 16.17 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data revealed that the local manufacturing trend reflects a positive uptake on the PTA’s Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Authorization regulatory regime, whereby, local manufacturing within the first year of regime introduction has resulted in the production of 24.66 million phones in a short span of one year, including 10.06 million 4G smartphones.
As per the PTA data, 52 percent of mobile devices are smartphones and 48 percent are 2G on the Pakistan network.
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 handset manufacturing in Pakistan.
It has also contributed positively to the mobile ecosystem of Pakistan by eliminating the counterfeit device market by providing a level-playing field for commercial entities and has created trust among consumers due to the formulation of standardized legal channels for all sorts of device imports.
The government had introduced a mobile manufacturing policy to encourage and attract manufacturers to establish their units in Pakistan.
The PTA in light of the policy issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations on 28th January 2021. Till now, 29 companies have been issued MDM Authorization enabling them to manufacture mobile devices in Pakistan. The companies include renowned brands such as Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, TECNO, Infinix, Vgotel and Q-mobile.
The establishment of 29 manufacturing plants has brought an investment of over $126 million and created over 10,000 jobs in a short span.
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