Apple plans to make iPhones in Pakistan?
In what may turn out to be an interesting, if logical, move, it appears Apple is thinking about making iPhones in Pakistan, though at first the focus will be on iPhone refurbishment for export outside the country.
Pakistan plans incentives
That’s the essence of local reports which claim Pakistan’s government has agreed to offer land on which to build a factory for the work and has also agreed an 8% performance incentive of some kind in favor of the giant company.
The government hopes to generate $100 million from the re-export of refurb iPhones in the first year by refurbishing two/three-year old models, these reports claim.
If these claims do turn out to be true then they may be included in a new Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Framework that will allegedly be published by Pakistan’s government.
The Apple playbook
The focus on refurbishment is caution in action.
The idea driving this is to give local workers hands-on experience of working with the products to build skills for future manufacturing of new devices.
One of the reports reveals Apple has followed similar approach in Indonesia, Malaysia and also, originally, in India.
The move into mobile electronics also means companies in the space will eventually have several viable smartphone production centers, rather than being completely dependent on China, and, more recently, India.
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