By Ayesha Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Feb. 08(INP-WealthPK): Pakistan is witnessing robust growth in home assembly of smartphones, enabling it to curtail the import of handsets and create job opportunities. According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data, the country manufactured 18.87 million mobile phones during the January-October period of the calendar year 2021, registering a 100% growth over 9.45 million phones imported during the same period, showing a positive trend in the local manufacturing of smartphones. The PTA said that the establishment of 26 manufacturing plants in just 10 months of 2021 has brought in an investment of over $126 million and has resulted in the creation of over 10,000 jobs. With the positive growth in the local assembly of mobile phones, Pakistan has also started smartphone exports as it delivered the first cargo to the United Arab Emirates with the label ‘Manufactured in Pakistan’. A consignment of 5,500 4G-enabled smartphones was delivered by Inovi Telecom to the UAE. This has enabled Pakistan to enter a new era of high value-added exports. According to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), the mobile industry in Pakistan is estimated to contribute $24 billion by 2023, accounting for 6.6% of GDP. The establishment of assembly units in Pakistan has been made possible after the announcement of the mobile manufacturing policy in 2020. Since then, a number of mobile manufacturing units have been set up. Under the policy, these firms have been given tax relaxations on the import of semi-knocked-down kits (SKDs). Additionally, the supportive measures from the PTA such as the implementation of mobile device identification, registration, and blocking system have also played a role in enhancing capital investment in this industry. Besides, creating thousands of jobs, the local assembly of devices has reduced the country's mobile phone import bill by 15%-20%. According to Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, the import of manufactured or completely built units plummeted by 73% year-on-year to $179 million in the first five months of the current fiscal year, enabling the government to save $410 million in foreign exchange as a result of this decline. However, the import of mobile phone SKD kits for local assembly increased by 407% to $674 million from $133 million last year, indicating an increase in locally manufactured handsets. Select Technologies Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Link Communication Limited, which has been granted a manufacturing licence to produce Xiaomi phones in Pakistan, estimates initial production of two to three million handsets per year. This is a huge step forward for the economy, not only in terms of lowering import costs but also providing jobs to the locals. In a recent tweet, Mr. Dawood had said the government's “Make-in-Pakistan” policy is continuing to yield positive results, and that he has been informed that Xiaomi, the world's second-largest mobile manufacturer, has partnered with Airlink Communications to manufacture smartphones in Pakistan. The production facility will employ 3,000 people directly or indirectly. Favourable government policies have aided in the transition of Pakistan from a net mobile phone importer to a mobile phone exporter. The cost of manufacturing in Pakistan, which remains high, can be brought down through tax breaks, enhancing manufacturing, and implementing policies that attract foreign direct investment. Real benefits to the economy will be realised once the assemblers start investing in the localisation and export of mobile phone components. Currently, many companies are in talks with foreign countries to export smartphones from Pakistan.