Samsung facing S24 smartphone shortage in Pakistan

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Staff Reporter

2 years ago

Samsung Electronics is reportedly facing a shortage of its S24 smartphones in Pakistan due to unexpectedly high demand for the flagship phone.

According to a report in Bloomberg, “The handsets, assembled locally in the country, have been in hot demand since their launch earlier this year.

The world’s fifth-most populous nation, Pakistan has 192 million mobile phone users.

“Samsung Electronics is working hard to meet the demand of our customers, and we anticipate sales will resume shortly,” the South Korean maker of chips, gadgets, and appliances said in an emailed statement.

Financial incentives from the government have shifted Pakistan’s smartphone industry from mostly importing overseas-made products in 2017 to domestic assembly of the vast majority of new handsets sold. Mobile companies produced about 21 million units in Pakistan last year — led by local and Chinese brands VGOTEL, Infinix, and Itel — while another 1.7 million units were imported, data from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority show.

In Pakistan, Samsung has an edge over Apple with better pricing and distribution. Because Apple doesn’t do local manufacturing, iPhone buyers have to pay a tax — added for imported handsets — of as much as $650, more than a third of the phone’s official price.

Staff Reporter