French manufacturer assembling smartphone at Sico plant

French smartphone maker Acehas started producing phones at Sico Egypt’s factory in Assiut, Al Mal reported on Thursday. The company is making an initial EGP 150-200 mn investment in its operations, Commercial Director Amr El Hefnawy reportedly told the newspaper.

The company, together with its local distributor KG Tech (LinkedIn), launched three smartphones and four feature phones — and plans to produce tablets in the second half of this year, El Hefnawy reportedly told the newspaper. Ace plans to export some of its phones to countries in West Africa in addition to selling it here in Egypt, he said.

Lawmakers are trying to boost the local industry: MPs voted in February to slash customs duties and eliminate the 5% development fees on imported mobile phone components in a bid to boost manufacturing and localize the industry.

The local phone assembly industry is picking up steam in Egypt: Samsung and Nokia manufacturer HMD Global are among the firms assembling models here, and they should soon be joined by Chinese manufacturers Xiaomi,Oppo, and Vivo.