Realme Pakistan has claimed that they have started local manufacturing of smartphones. Asma Hayat, PR manager, revealed this important information while talking to the media in Karachi.
Realme and three other smartphone brands are already assembling smartphones in Pakistan. The process of assembling smartphones in Pakistan has now transitioned to local manufacturing, with various components being produced domestically. Smartphones manufactured in Pakistan with Chinese assistance will be sold at lower prices than the current market rate.
One of Pakistan’s four major smartphone assembly companies, Realme, has claimed that they have started the trial manufacturing of smartphones in the country. According to the company, “Realme is manufacturing smartphones locally according to Pakistan’s needs and intends to sell them at lower prices in the market.”
In an interview with Urdu News in Karachi, Asma Hayat, the Public Relations Manager for Realme, said, “The market for locally assembled smartphones in Pakistan is growing day by day. The smartphones assembled in Pakistan are designed according to local needs and consumer preferences.”
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She further mentioned that “during the last fiscal year, the smartphone assembly industry played a significant role in the country’s economy. The demand for locally manufactured smartphones now exceeds that of imported ones.”
Asma Hayat stated, “Pakistan is manufacturing over 80% of its smartphone needs locally. Companies in the smartphone industry are importing raw materials from abroad and manufacturing smartphones domestically. We are trying to maximize local manufacturing. This is a challenging step, but we have started it.”
How high is the demand for local smartphones in Pakistan?
According to Abdul Wahab, Director of Icon Telecom, a smartphone assembly company in Pakistan, “Pakistan is producing 80 to 90 percent of its smartphone needs locally. The smartphones manufactured in Pakistan meet international standards, and this industry is growing with the help of China.”
He added, “A while ago, there was a delay in obtaining Letters of Credit (LCs) due to a shortage of dollars in the country, but this issue has been resolved, and smartphone assemblers are now easily obtaining LCs to import raw materials for assembly.”
Asma Hayat mentioned that Pakistan is now assembling nearly all major global smartphone brands locally, increasing the production of “Made in Pakistan” smartphones to 95% of local demand while reducing the share of imported phones to just 5%. Local assembly plants assembled 13.08 million handsets in the first five months of 2024 (January to May), compared to 0.76 million imports.
Local production saves approximately 15-20% in foreign exchange since local assemblers still import nearly all smartphone parts from foreign manufacturers.
About 20 global smartphone brands are present in Pakistan, with many companies involved in local assembly.
Has the demand for imported phones ended with local smartphone assembly?
Minhaj Gulfaam, President of the Karachi Mobile and Electronics Dealers Association, stated that locally manufactured smartphones are the top sellers in the market.
He said, “The cost of locally manufactured phones is lower, making them available at lower prices than imported phones. Consumers prefer to buy new phones at lower prices.”
He further mentioned that seeing the increasing demand for locally manufactured smartphones, many branded smartphone companies have also started local assembly in Pakistan. For example, Samsung is now manufacturing smartphones in Pakistan to meet local demand.
Minhaj Gulfaam noted that while branded phone users still prefer to buy branded phones, their numbers are only 10 to 20 percent of the market. Some smartphones, like iPhones and others, are not manufactured in Pakistan, and buyers of these phones still prefer imported ones.
Will new taxes in the budget make locally manufactured smartphones more expensive?
The federal government has imposed new taxes on several sectors in the 2024-25 fiscal budget, including the smartphone industry.
Asma Hayat said, “The government recently imposed an 18% sales tax on smartphones, which stakeholders and consumer rights organizations have reacted to.”
She said, “Tax revenue benefits the economy in the long term, so assemblers believe in complying with the country’s laws and regulations. After the new taxes, locally manufactured phones will be more expensive, but we are trying not to pass the full burden of taxes onto consumers.”
Former Federal Minister for Information Technology and current head of the Standing Committee on IT, Syed Aminul Haq, said, “Our vision is very clear. We want both urban and rural consumers to use smartphones.”
He added, “During the previous government, we took steps that led several well-known companies to start production in Pakistan. This was a significant milestone. We continue to strive for improvements in the IT sector every day.”
He concluded, “The production of smartphones in Pakistan has benefited smartphone users, and the IT sector’s contributions to the economy are becoming more visible. We aim to further improve and enhance this sector because the world is now advancing in IT and artificial intelligence, and we need to prepare our youth for it.”