Pakistan has Huge Potential to Manufacture Smartphones: IDC Report

Keeping in view the competitive market, Pakistan has also decided to locally manufacture smartphones; as Haier has already established its assembly plant in Pakistan. Recently, the Finance Ministry also said that:

“Foreign investors, who are seeking investment in the telecom sector are likely to get big incentives. They include prospective investors, particularly from UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Asean. Some of these investors propose to join hands with Chinese companies which have reputed and cost-effective technology and trained manpower. Their plans are to make Pakistan as the production base to feed the Pakistan-Central Asia-Iran, and Middle Eastern and African markets for telecom and cellular products.”

Also Read: MOITT and PTA to Facilitate Haier Establish Pakistan’s First Smartphone Assembly Plant

The increasing population of Pakistan clearly indicates that the country has great potential for smartphone penetration. Also the 3G/4G services has accessed to the far flung regions like Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) recently.

Pakistan has Huge Potential to Manufacture Smartphones: IDC Report

IT Ministry Anusha Rehman said that:

“As soon as our domestic manufacturing starts, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government would have fulfilled one more promise to provide cheaper products to people, expand local manufacturing and ensure more jobs to Pakistanis.”

Now the government need to invite Expression of Interest (EoIs) for domestic manufacturing of smartphones as soon as possible. The government can also plan this in collaboration with one of the pioneer factor Telephone Industry of Pakistan (TIP). Telephone Industry of Pakistan was established in 1950s by Seimens of Germany in Pakistan; as a first of its kind that manufactured telephone apparatus, full fledged telephone exchanges and telecom equipment at Haripur in KPK. This Mother of telecom products factory recently stopped manufacturing because of financial issue. This was a state-run factory but unfortunately the government didn’t show interest in saving it.

The recent China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project of $46 billion has also bright prospects of Chinese investment in Seimens. Mr. Zia-ul-Haq, the managing director of Seimens said that an EoI is expected to be submitted soon in this regard.

Smartphone shipment in Pakistan has massively increased by 214% on yearly basis during the first 3 months of 2015 compared to 2014, according to International Data Corporation (IDC) report. According to the report:

“The shifting dynamics of the Pakistan mobile market to the deployment of 3G/4G networks across the country and the subsequent rise in the demand of devices that are compatible with the infrastructure.”

IDC report also said that:

“Pakistan has traditionally been a feature phone market; indeed just three years ago in 2012, around 93 per cent of all mobile phone shipments in  the country were feature phones since here was no network to support smartphones.”

Interestingly, IDC report also mentioned “QMobile” as the dominating local market brand as it has a 58% share in the market. There are many other local brands like Rivo, Voice etc. that are performing well. The rest of market is shared by international mobile brands like Samsung, Huawei,, Haier, Lenovo etc. 

With this potential for growth, Pakistan will witness a greater boom in the coming year.