KARACHI: Switched on to the needs of users in the country, China’s Hisense said it will start assembling smartphones in Pakistan from January next year, after successfully manufacturing LED and laser TVs in the country, officials said on Saturday.
“The process of installing a modern assembly line for the smartphones will be completed by the end of December this year at an estimated cost of approximately $3 to $4 million,” M. Tariq Zubairi, CFO of Tri-Angels Electronic, the manufacturer and distributors of Hisense in Pakistan, told Arab News.
With the completion of the assembly line, Tri-Angels Electronics will become the first entity to locally assemble smartphones in the country. “The locally-assembled smartphones will be available in markets across Pakistan from March 2019,” Zubairi said.
At a whopping cost of $848 million during the fiscal year 2017-2018, Pakistan imported 60 percent of its TV sets from China, followed by Korea.
“At present no one is assembling smartphones in Pakistan. Locally-assembled smartphones will benefit the country … consumers will be able to acquire the phones at lower prices and employment opportunities will open up for many others,” Muhammad Rizwan Irfan, President of Karachi Electronic Dealers’ Association, said.
According to several dealers, Pakistan imports approximately 1.4 million television sets every year and, with the introduction of 3G and 4G services, this number is steadily increasing, Irfan said.
Hisense, along with its Pakistani partner, has invested $1.5 million to set up the phone assembly plant and is also in the process of setting up another assembly line for bigger TV sets. Each assembly line has the capacity to produce around 500 units per day, reducing the dependency on imported TV sets by almost 75 percent.
The total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the first two months remained $288 million, down by 40 percent. Pakistan’s power sector was the major recipient of foreign investment with up to $201 million, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Friday showed.
Since the inception of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, China has emerged as the single largest foreign investor in Pakistan, with Chinese companies investing $170.6 million during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year.
Headquartered in Qingdao, Hisense, founded in 1969, has a total workforce of 75,000 and earned an overseas sales revenue of $4.2 billion (CNY 111.1 billion) in 2017.
Hisense has its finger on Pakistan’s pulse
Hisense has its finger on Pakistan’s pulse
Pakistan kills 11 militants in separate operations in western provinces
- Military says five Baloch separatist fighters were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Kohlu district
- Police say six Pakistani Taliban died in Lakki Marwat during a joint operation after drone attacks on homes
ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Pakistani security forces and police killed at least 11 militants in separate counterterrorism operations in the country’s western provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities said on Friday, highlighting the distinct insurgencies confronting the country along its border with Afghanistan.
In southwestern Balochistan, the military said it killed separatist militants in an intelligence-based operation in Kohlu District on Dec. 25, while police in the northwestern district of Lakki Marwat fought and killed the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan’s military said the Balochistan operation targeted fighters it identified as part of “Fitna al Hindustan,” a term authorities use for Baloch separatist outfits, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which have waged a decades-long insurgency in the resource-rich province.
“During the conduct of operation, own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, five Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement, adding that weapons and explosives were recovered and follow-up clearance operations were underway.
In Lakki Marwat, police said counterterrorism units and local peace committees launched a coordinated operation against militants they described as “khwarij,” a term the Pakistani state uses for factions aligned with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of militants that primarily operates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to police, six militants were killed and several others wounded during the operation, after authorities said militants had used drone-mounted devices to target residential homes, injuring civilians.
“Protection of life and property of the public is the police’s top priority, and strict, indiscriminate action against khwarij and other anti-peace elements will continue,” Bannu Region Deputy Inspector General Sajjad Khan said in a statement released by the regional police office.
The two operations highlight Pakistan’s parallel security challenges in its western regions.
In Balochistan, separatist groups accuse the federal government and military of marginalizing ethnic Baloch communities and denying them a fair share of the province’s mineral wealth, allegations Islamabad denies.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the TTP has intensified attacks on security forces and civilians since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021.
Pakistan has repeatedly said these militant groups operating in both provinces receive backing from India and find shelter in Afghanistan, claims denied by New Delhi and Kabul.
Pakistani authorities said counterterrorism operations will continue nationwide under a campaign approved by the federal government to curb militancy and restore security.
