Karachi: The production of locally manufactured or assembled mobile phones increased by 28% in December 2024, driven by high demand for low-priced smartphones.
However, the import of mobile phones also rose by 50% in the first six months of 2024-25, indicating a growing market size.
“Pakistan fulfilled 95% of its mobile phone demand through local manufacturing/assembly in 2024, compared to a five-year (2019-2023) average of 67% and an eight-year (2016-2023) average of 47%,” said a research report from Topline Securities.
According to the latest data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), local mobile companies manufactured or assembled 2.95 million units in December 2024, a 28% increase month-on-month.
Arrival of Imported Sets: 50% Increase in 1HFY25
According to State Bank data, the import of mobile phones increased by 50% to $52.9 million in the first half of FY25 compared to $35.2 million in the same period last fiscal year.
The total import bill of the telecommunication sector rose by 22.61% to $1.030 billion in 1HFY25 from $840 million in the same period last fiscal year.
In FY24, the total import bill of the telecom sector was $1.896 billion—$65.6 million for mobile phones and $1.830 billion for other apparatus.
The import bill for mobile phones jumped almost six times in FY24 to $65.6 million from $11.6 million in FY23. However, demand remained high, and locally manufactured units fulfilled 95% of the market demand.
“This takes total locally manufactured/assembled sales in 2024 to 31.38 million units, up 47% over CY2023,” the report said.
Within the locally assembled mobile phones in 2024, 59% (18.64 million units) were smartphones and the remaining 41% (12.74 million units) were 2G phones.
The top 10 locally assembled brands during 2024 include Infinix (3.98 million units), followed by Itel (3.64 million units), VGO Tel (3.37 million units), Tecno (2.85 million units), Vivo (2.77 million units), Xiaomi (2.35 million units), Realme (1.76 million units), Samsung (1.51 million units), G’Five (1.44 million units), and Nokia (1.36 million units).
As of January 2024, the country had 188.9 million mobile connections, 77.8% of the total population. Pakistan currently ranks 7th with a total of 193.2 million mobile phones.
Most of the manufacturing or assembling of mobile phones is carried out with the help of Chinese companies, and the sector is growing the fastest compared to other sectors of the economy.
