Air Link to enter TV business with Xiaomi

August 15, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan's Air Link Communication Ltd. plans to start assembling Xiaomi Corp. televisions in January to sell in the world's fifth-largest nation, Bloomberg reported.

The companies, which forged a partnership two years ago to sell mobile phones in Pakistan, don't expect major investment will be needed since the assembly lines for both products are quite similar, Air Link CEO Muzzaffar Hayat Piracha said in an interview.

The South Asian nation 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 IMF required the nation to lift all curbs on imports, a move that has been a relief for companies including Air Link.

The company has become profitable from breaking even in the last six months, Piracha said. It is targeting an increase in production of mobile phones to about 500.000 a month by the end of the year, up from 300,000 a month currently, he said.

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.

It 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.

Copyright Mettis Link News