Haier’s Phone Assembly Plant in Pakistan to Start Operations from April 1st

Haier will start operations for its first state of the art local manufacturing /assembling of mobile handsets unit in Pakistan from April 1, 2016, said Tahir Mushtaq Spokesperson of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

Haier is already operating in the country and has established laptop manufacturing unit in Lahore, however from the April 1, it will roll-out smart phones/ mobile hand set assembling unit, said Musthaq while talking to this scribe.

The move would not only help in reducing the import bill as smart phones are the demand of the day, but will also help bring good investment and create job opportunities for the youth, he added.

According to tax incentive package, given for manufacturing of mobile phones in the budget 2015-16, following incentives are available:

• Income tax exemption for five years.
• 90 % depreciation allowance for plants, machinery and production line equipment used for manufacturing of mobile phones certified by the PTA in first year.
• Customs duty and sales tax exemption on the import of plants, assembly line machinery and equipment.

In the wake of new government policy facilitating local manufacturing /assembling of mobile handsets, a delegation led by Zeshan Qureshi, CEO of Haier Groups of companies called on Minister of State for IT &Telecom Anusha Rahman on establishing mobile manufacturing/assembling facility in Pakistan.

According to CEO, Haier considers Pakistan a very lucrative and flourishing market for mobile handset manufacturing/assembling particularly with the uptake of 3G/4G services in Pakistan, and hence Haier intends to inaugurate its first state of art assembling unit in April and requested the Minister for its formal inauguration.

The Minister appreciated their endeavor and said that local manufacturing/assembling is at the core of telecom policy to complete the ecosystem of provisioning quality and affordable services to all for ubiquitous development. She highlighted that special incentives have been provided in budget 2015-16 for promotion for local manufacturing/assembling.

She further reiterated that after 3G/4G roll out, there was emerging demand for cost effective handset which gives substantial room for investment in this area. Minister assured the delegates that government is committed to provide all possible facilitation for this new mobile manufacturing business to establish mobile manufacturing industry in Pakistan.

Anusha Rahman further stated that Pakistan has educated and skilled young labor force which makes Pakistan an attractive destination for foreign direct investment and appreciated the role of Haier in playing a lead role in setting local manufacturing of smart phones & laptops. She said the move will create employment opportunities and add depth to the ICT sector of Pakistan.