Air Link Pakistan start Producing Xiaomi Phones from 4th March 2022
Air Link Communication Limited announced on Monday that it will begin producing Xiaomi phones in Pakistan next month.
According to a notice submitted on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Air Link aims to open a Mobile Device Manufacturing Facility in Pakistan on March 4, 2022, in Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, to manufacture Xiaomi smartphones.
According to Air Link, the initiative will produce $550 million in annual sales and thousands of jobs in Pakistan.
As per Air Link, Xiaomi is a global technology giant that placed 334 on the Fortune Global 500 list. In Q2-2021, it surpassed Apple as the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, and it is now the number one in the market like Europe and several other nations, including India.
The Chinese company made a record 190.4 million smartphones in 2021.
“It’s a historic event for Pakistan,” where one of the world’s top smartphone manufacturers, Xiaomi, has collaborated with Airlink’s subsidiary Select Technologies (Pvt) Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary to launch production in Pakistan.”
This production facility is a step forward in achieving the ‘Make in Pakistan’ objective of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, and it will impact the Pakistani economy by exporting locally made Xiaomi phones,” added Airlink.
Last year in August, Air Link launched its Initial Public Offer (IPO) that was oversubscribed by 1.6 times.
According to Ismail Iqbal Securities at the time of the IPO, the firm is one of Pakistan’s top mobile phone distributors, with a market share of roughly 20% in imported mobile phones.
Furthermore, Air Link began manufacturing mobile phones in Pakistan in April with a monthly capacity of 400,000 devices, with a capacity of 550,000 units expected by FY23.
To strengthen its presence in the retail zone, the company expects to extend its retail network from 14 locations in FY21 to 150 stores by FY26. This would allow the corporation to take home an extra 3-10% margin on retail sales.
Using a 22.6 per cent penetration rate, Air Link management predicts annual smartphone demand at 16 million.
In recent years, Pakistan’s smartphone market has seen an influx of multinational firms, with companies like realme and Samsung, among others, indicating interest in tapping into the country’s young population.
