Mehdi Abghari, the chief of the Assembly Committee on Higher Imports Mobile, said on Sunday that international sanctions imposed by Western countries on Iran’s economy have not affected Iran’s mobile and technology markets.
“Recently Arman Hamrah Arian, an Iran-based corporation, has managed to obtain the necessary certifications from Sony to import the Korean devices to the country. This proves that international embargoes on Iran’s economy cannot affect local mobile markets. However some third-party companies have failed to renew their contracts with foreign mobile manufacturers.” Mehdi Abghari said in an interview with Pars Herald.
Abghari went on to accuse local companies of cheating Iranian government by saying: “Unfortunately, some companies are trying to deceive local government. These companies claim that their operations are affected by embargoes, so they are seeking for subsidized hard-currencies from government. High-ranking officials of Trade Ministry must be warned about this subject.”
As the number of fake digital devices has been increased significantly, Iranian government has launched ‘Shabnam’ project to organize on-sale devices in domestic markets. “We have received noticeable feedbacks both from sellers and buyers. By distributing labeled devices in markets, customers can easily detect original and fake mobiles and accessories.” Mehdi Abghari concluded.
The mobile penetration rate in Iran stands at 110%. During the recent years, Iran has become an emerging market for international mobile manufacturers. At this time, Samsung is the leading company in Iran, which has dominated the local market of Islamic Republic.