International tech giants TCL Technology and Alcatel are interested in Pakistan's mobile phone industry.

TCL, the Chinese telecom giant is reportedly planning to invest in Pakistan’s mobile manufacturing industry with Airlink, while Alcatel, the French mobile phone manufacturer, is also interested in entering the Pakistani market, as reported by Techjuice.pk.

According to Pakistan Customs, import of mobile phones through Device Identification, Registration, and Blocking System (DIRBs) has generated Rs. 54 billion over the last year. Moreover, introduction of DIRBs has also attracted a lot of foreign investment in this sector in Pakistan.

DIRBs were introduced by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Customs to control the use of smuggled devices in the country.

While currently a total of 17 mobile phone manufacturers are operating in Pakistan, government policy has also facilitated growth in this sector. In May 2020, a mobile phone manufacturing policy was introduced in Pakistan. Under this policy, local manufacturers of exports of mobile phones were given a 3 percent allowance and locally assembled sets were exempted from 4 percent withholding tax on domestic sales.

Introduction of a mobile phone manufacturing policy and DIRBs has immensely contributed towards increasing local demand in the economy and has attracted foreign investors like TCL and Alcatel.