A senior executive of Pakistan’s premier cell phone distributor and manufacturer, Air Link Communication Ltd. said that the company will utilize the funds raised through IPO to expand its production base for enhancing export of Chinese smartphone brands assembled and manufactured in Pakistan.
The Air Link executive, who wished anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media, was commenting on the recent news that the company had exported 1,500 4G handsets to Dubai as a debut in the smartphone export market. In the end of August, Air Link raised Rs6.43 billion in Pakistan’s largest-ever private sector IPO (initial public offering).
“The exported sets included all four Chinese brands, TCL, iTel, Tecno, and Alcatel, which we assembled at our Lahore facility,” the executive told Daily CPEC over the phone from the company’s head office.
About the scope of smartphones exported from Pakistan, the executive said, “We plan to use the IPO proceeds to expand our production base to further enhance our exports in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the goals set under the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).”
The company presently employs around 1,000 engineers and skilled workers and aims to enhance its production capacity from 500,000 to 800,000 smart and feature phone sets per month, according to its website.
The Air Link executive said that their “Made in Pakistan” smartphones will soon be available in various countries. “The firm which purchased smartphones from our company will distribute the same for onward sale in different countries of the world,” he said.
Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce, took to his social media space to congratulate Air Link on this success. “It’s a small beginning for the company but a significant milestone for Pakistan’s mobile phone industry,” he wrote.
