Mobile phone giant Samsung has started production in Pakistan, getting hopes of both the authorities and the industry high that the move would scale down Pakistan’s import bill in the near future. The news came on Tuesday during a meeting of the company’s top executives with Senators who had come to the factory to learn more about the fast-growing sector and the challenges that lie ahead for Pakistan’s mobile manufacturing business. As per Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) data, production of mobile phones by local manufacturing plants has almost doubled to 18.87 million against the import of mobile phones which stood at 45 million during the first 10 months of the current year. However, despite the increase in local production of mobile phones, the import remained on a higher side. The PTA data says that mobile phones worth $644.673m were imported during the first four months (July-October) of 2021 compared to $557.961m during the same period of last year, registering a growth of 15.54 per cent. Quoting an official from Samsung’s partner company Lucky Group in Pakistan, the report states that with production of around 250,000 to 300,000, the aim is to produce around 3 million cellphones every year. Moreover, the official also hailed the massive opportunities the development brings in the form of employment, investment, export opportunities and local capacity building.