China-Pakistan mobile manufacturer eyes to start exporting

• Their plant in Pakistan is most efficient of all owned by the Transsion group globally.
• The introduction of DIRBS has eliminated the menace of smuggled sets, says Azhar.

Transsion Tecno mobile manufacturing firm, a joint venture between Pakistan and China is all set to manufacture 49 percent of its mobile phones in Pakistan in the coming years, informed Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar.

“They will be focusing now on exports as their plant in Pakistan is most efficient of all owned by Transsion group globally (excluding China),” said Azhar, after his meeting with Transsion Tecno CEO, Aamir Allawala, at their phone assembly plant.

The minister said that in the next three years the company has targeted to localize production of 49pc of handset parts. “A huge export potential e.g. Vietnam is exporting USD37 billion of handsets annually,” he said

Hammad said Transsion Tecno started producing three million handsets per annum and is increasing its production to up to 13 million handsets within a year.

He said that the introduction of DIRBS [Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System] has eliminated the menace of smuggled sets, and has been an instrumental factor in opening up the market.

Currently, Transsion Tecno is operating three production lines with a capacity to assemble 3 million smartphones every year. In terms of human resources, the company has on board 750 skilled workers, 70 engineers, and nine Chinese experts.

Aamir Allawala, the CEO of Transsion Tecno in his interview with BR Research had said that mobile phones can become Pakistan's biggest export item, surpassing textiles, if the country is able to tap into this market.