Once Part Of Import Bill Problem, Smartphones Are Now Source Of Forex Earning For Pakistan

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2022 ) :Once a contributor to country's heavy import bill, smartphones are now emerging as a credible source of foreign exchange earnings for Pakistan, thanks to unprecedented development witnessed in the telecommunications sector during the ongoing regime of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf government.

Pakistan's exports are witnessing upward trend with increase in number of phone assembling plants and expansion of existing ones being one of the main factors, according to a post on a website, Developing Pakistan.

Prime Minister's advisor on trade and commerce Abdur Razzaq Daud, said recently that Pakistan would be securing a prominent place among the smartphone exporting countries in the second half of 2022, according to the web site.

According to statistics from Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), Pakistan exported 28.02 million handsets in 2019. Country was producing 25 million handsets, thanks to increase in smartphone assembling facilities brought to the Pakistan by globally acclaimed brands.

In a virtual conference last year in June, GSMA head of Asia Pacific Julian Gorman had said digital technologies were set to transform way people live and work in Pakistan and had forecast that by 2023 the economic contribution of the mobile industry in Pakistan was expected to reach US $ 24 billion, accounting for 6.6 per cent of GDP.