Smartphones produced by tech giant Samsung will now be assembled in Pakistan by Lucky Motor, a subsidiary of Lucky Cement Limited. A letter which was sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange by Lucky Cement said that the company has “recently entered into an agreement with Samsung Gulf Electronics Co., FZE (Samsung) for producing Samsung branded Mobile Devices in Pakistan”. The company said that to follow up on its agreement, the group has already started the “process of seeking necessary regulatory approvals” including the filing of an application with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for securing the license. The letter stated that the production facility of Samsung will be located at Lucky Motor Corporation’s existing plant facility producing vehicles at Bin Qasim Industrial Park in Port Qasim, Karachi. “The production facility is anticipated to be completed by end of December 2021,” it added. Chairman China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Asim Bajwa lauded the “landmark development”. “This landmark development coupled with a number of upcoming Chinese mobile phone manufacturing facilities in Pakistan will expand our manufacturing base, help boost exports and create more jobs,” said Bajwa. He also congratulated the Lucky Group for securing the agreement. Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar also congratulated the Lucky Group for entering into a joint venture to manufacture smartphones in Pakistan. “These positive developments are evidence of the success of Device Identification Registration & Blocking System (DIRBS) system that eliminated smuggling of phones. And then followed up by the mobile manufacturing policy last year,” said Azhar. DIRBS was developed by the PTA to curtail counterfeit mobile phone usage, discourage mobile phone theft and protect consumer interest, and is in line with the Telecom policy 2015. The PTA at the time had said that DIRBS is a “forward working solution” that is designed to cater to no service interruption for all Pakistani cellular mobile service users.