Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that all of Pakistan's 30 mobile phone assembling companies have closed en masse, including three facilities run by foreign brands, as manufacturers say they have run out of raw materials amid import restrictions, jeopardizing the future of about 20,000 people. risk employee.

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Edited by |Paul Mitchel 

Economic section

Islam Abad- 3 April 2023

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         Most companies have put employees on leave after paying half of their salaries for the month of April in advance. They were told they would be called back once production resumed

A company executive said government policies had made it difficult for an importer to obtain a letter of credit, a document from a bank that guarantees that the buyer's payment to the seller will be received on time and in the correct amount. This has led to the halting of imports of key equipment and components used in the manufacture of mobile phones.

The Pakistan Mobile Manufacturers Association, Ministry of Information Technology, in a recent letter, notified that the domestic supply of mobile phones has almost come to a halt and the market has also started to experience a shortage of mobile phones.

The association indicated that the situation is not only worrisome for producers but also for consumers, who have to pay much higher prices for locally manufactured mobile phones, pointing out that the companies have almost run out of raw materials, most of which came from China, South Korea and Vietnam.

Mobile phone makers said the industry requires $170 million worth of imported parts and components a month to operate at full capacity, but the government is not allowing the letters of credit needed for imports to be opened amid a dollar scarcity.

Pakistan produces more than 2.5 million phones per month on average, since April of last year, to meet about 90% of the total demand, and only advanced devices are imported. The industry employs 20,000 people and creates another 20,000 jobs indirectly.

Pakistan suffers from stifling debts and a scarcity of foreign exchange. Public debt jumped by more than 28% from June 2021 to September 2022, according to official data, increasing by 11.3 trillion rupees to 51.13 trillion rupees (a dollar equals 283.8 rupees).

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