Govt Import restrictions and higher tariffs became put in place to increase domestic production and make mobile phone exports more profitable. But in many cases, they have the opposite effect. Pakistan’s mobile phone exports potential does traumatize by the country’s govt policies. So the country is likely to export fewer mobile phones.
The Pakistani mobile phone industry has told the Ministry of IT and Telecom that it is hard to get letters of credit. Which makes it hard to meet domestic demand for mobile phones, let alone export them.
These LCs are necessary to import the parts of mobile phones that don’t make locally.
The US, China, South Korea, Japan, and several countries in Europe are big exporters of these important parts. Which include cameras, motherboards, and other pieces of technology.
In August of last year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered 120,000 4G mobile phones, and for the first time, they are let overseas. The original supplier of this order says it’s getting harder and harder to meet the deadline. Because of State Bank of Pakistan import restrictions (SBP).
Mr. Zeeshan Mian Noor, CEO of Inovi Telecom, said:
When the first shipment of 5,500 mobile phones made in Pakistan went to the United Arab Emirates in August 2021. There was a lot of excitement. However, the mobile manufacturing sector has not been doing well in the 14 months since.
He went on to say that these contradictory policies it has impossible for local mobile phone makers to get export orders since August of last year.
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But the administration hasn’t kept its promises of more incentives and a 5% export rebate.
The CEO said that they had asked for $150 million in lines of credit and only did give $83 million.