Pakistan eyes $5bn IT exports with smartphone production: Umar Saif

The Caretaker Federal Minister for IT and Telecom, Dr Umar Saif announced an ambitious target of achieving $5 billion in IT exports within the next five years, drawing a comparison to India’s annual export of mobile phones worth $10 billion.

Dr Umar Saif also revealed a significant government move to boost the production of high-end smartphones in Pakistan, through a social media post on platform X, he announced a 3% research and development (R&D) incentive for the local handset manufacturing industry. The objective is to enhance the industry’s global competitiveness by ensuring more favorable pricing.

In addition he said that efforts are underway to boost the export of smartphones manufactured in Pakistan, with a notable 32% increase in IT exports over the last two months.

Dr Umar Saif emphasized the significance of the telecom sector for Pakistan’s economic development during the Pakistan Mobile Summit in Islamabad.

He highlighted that Pakistan holds the seventh-largest telecom market globally and has provided tax incentives to the local mobile phone industry.

Speaking at the event, Dr Saif mentioned that licenses have been granted to 35 companies engaged in assembling smartphones for various brands.

He revealed plans to formulate a policy to manufacture complete mobile phones, with an initial emphasis on producing some parts locally. 

Over the past two years, around 90 million mobile phones have been assembled in Pakistan, with exports reaching approximately two and a half million mobile phones valued at $1.5 million, said the IT minister.

Addressing the summit, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman assured full support to the telecom industry.

He expressed the PTA’s readiness to discuss any policies that might impede industry development, highlighting ongoing efforts to support the export of mobile phones manufactured in Pakistan.

Rehman disclosed the formation of an advisory committee for the launch of 5G technology, emphasizing that the PTA is actively working to meet the timeline provided by the IT Ministry.