Xiaomi TVs to be assembled in Pakistan from January: Bloomberg

• Major investment not required, says Air Link CEO.
• Assembly lines for both products were quite similar.
• Air Link plans to increase mobile phones production

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Air Link Communication Ltd. will start assembling Xiaomi televisions in the country from January 2024 and begin its sale, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Air Link Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muzzaffar Hayat Piracha told the US publication that the two companies, which forged a partnership two years ago to sell mobile phones in Pakistan, don’t expect that major investment would be required since the assembly lines for both products were quite similar.

According to Bloomberg, Pakistan experienced a turn of fortune after securing a deal with the International Monetary Fund that doubled foreign exchange reserves to $8 billion.

In one of its demands, the global lender required the nation to lift all curbs on imports, a move that had been a relief for companies including Air Link. 

The company has become profitable from breaking even in the last six months, Piracha added.

Air Link, which started operations as a mobile phone distributor slightly over a decade ago, became Pakistan's biggest private sector initial public offering when it began trading in 2021, Piracha said adding that the company was targeting an increase in the production of mobile phones to about 500,000 a month by the end of the year which currently stood at 300,000 a month.

The company became one of the largest distributors of phones in the country and is now looking to diversify by jointly bidding to acquire Shell Plc's local unit.