Mohamed Salem, chairperson of the Egyptian Company for Silicon Industries (Sico Technology), said that the company's factory in the Assiut Technology Park will not be assigned for manufacturing smartphones, instead, it will be used to manufacture many other electronic devices. Salem added that the company aims to manufacture television screens and ATMs, as well as e-payment devices over the next two years. Regarding the percentage of local components in the locally-manufactured phones of Sico, Salem said that his company aims to increase them to 72% throughout five years, which is the maximum percentage targeted to be reached. Sico announced earlier opening the door for pre-orders of its new phone, Nile X, which is planned to be officially launched in markets during the second half of January. Customers inside and outside Egypt can call the company's call centre to pre-order its phone which comes at a final price of EGP 4,200. Priority to receive a phone from the first shipment will be for those who place their order earlier, as the company has seen great demand on its phone following the announcement of the official date to launch the phone in the market. Minister of Communications Yasser El Qady gave President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi the first Egyptian phone, Nile X, which was manufactured at the company's factory in the technological area in New Assiut, during the events of Cairo ICT 2017. The phones available for booking are Mini 3 for EGP 200, Plus 2 3G for EGP 850, Plus 2 4G for EGP 1,000, Diamond 2 for EGP 2,000, and Nile X for EGP 4,200.
