Pakistan to smartphone-makers: Come for the low tax, stay to create your replacements

Pakistan has proposed that foreign smartphone-makers entering the country will have to help it build a domestic smartphone industry. Draft regulations [PDF]released this week by telecoms regulator the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) would require all phonemakers to obtain a special 10-year licence before they can …

[Anonymous Coward]

Good luck with that.

If the company wants to retain control over their technology then they won't want to teach you how to replicate it for your own ability to compete with said company.

Companies from the United States may not be able to do it at all if their current leader gets reelected and demands American tech stay on American shores.

Sure your taxes may be low but that may not be enough to offset having you able to cut their feet out from under them by opening your own factories, hiring your own people, & using all that newly acquired technology at prices the company can't match. Competition done fairly is one thing but having an entire nation start producing item clones at prices the original source can't ever hope to touch is quite another.

What's to stop you from selling a clone at the equiv of one Euro & eat the loss in order to completely scuttle everyone else's chances of doing legit business?

[DryBones]

Re: Good luck with that.

Yeah, this is pretty much a "they said the quiet part aloud" of China's method of doing things.

[IGotOut]

Dear Pakistan.

This is not how it's done.

Improve your education system. Then you can improve all your kids futures and improve your outcomes. You can use these companies as a stop gap to bring in the cash while you do this. Its what China did very successfully.

[Falmari]

Re: Dear Pakistan.

No that's exactly what China did as DryBones said they just did not say it.

You should have said.

Dear Pakistan.

This is not how it is done.

Don't ask a multinational to close their eyes while I put my hand in your pocket to lift your wallet.

Follows China's example and while they are not looking lift their wallet.

Never let the mark know what you are going to do.

[IGotOut]

Re: Dear Pakistan.

Incorrect.

China set up 5 enterprise zones, creating low cost high volume industries.

At the same time they spent billions on educating children in STEM subjects. 15 years ago I attended my Ex's graduation at a top UK university. I'd say 80 to 90% of those getting Phds and Masters in Maths and Science were of Chinese decent. This is still the case today.

It's one thing stealing IP, but if your country is barely literate, what good does it do?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Dear Pakistan.

"80 to 90% of those getting Phds and Masters"

Of those, a significant proportion will have plagiarised a lot - i.e. didn't learn as much was they should have. My ex-partner was a senior staff member tenured at a UK University (Business, not STEM), and one of their largest problems was the plagiarism frequently undertaken by the Chinese students (Not just the Chinese student population of course, but the 'offence' was much more frequently committed by Chinese students than any other national group).

In some cases it was completely blatant, and in some cases far less so. However, due to the need to put 'Bums on seats', plagiarism (where detected with any reasonable level of certainty) was usually overlooked unless it was so blatant that it was impossible to do so. Very occasionally, an example had to be made 'pour encourager les autres'.

AC as academia has a long reach, has a long memory, and can be very nasty when poked - just like the ex :-)