Tamer El-Gamal, the General Manager of HMD, the manufacturer of Nokia smartphones in Egypt, said that local mobile manufacturing at the SEICO factory in the Asyut Technology Zone would save up to 20% of production costs, especially for high-end models. He made these remarks to Daily News Egypt on the sidelines of the press conference held by the company on Monday to announce its partnership with the Egyptian Silicon Industries Company (SEICO Technology). El-Gamal explained that the company plans to manufacture its products and device models in two local factories. One is owned by Communication Import, with a contract duration of five years, and the other is affiliated with SEICO Technology in the Asyut Technology Zone. He added that Nokia aimed to produce between two to three million units, but exchange rate fluctuations might disrupt this plan. He emphasized that local production would help reduce the pressure on the dollar by cutting the import bill for mobile devices. In a related context, he pointed out that companies are currently facing difficulties in pricing their phones. He mentioned that HMD Global decided five months ago to start manufacturing 5G phones. The company launched the G42 model in India, achieving significant popularity in the mid-range category, supporting fifth-generation communication services at a price not exceeding approximately $150. El-Gamal noted that the SEICO factory would start production in mid-February, highlighting that the agreement with the Egyptian company covers Egypt and African markets, allowing for the management of dollar liquidity. He stressed the importance of the government providing export incentives to mobile phone manufacturers in Egypt in advance, similar to the Indian market. He also called for the announcement of facilitations and privileges that international companies would receive.
