Aitizaz Hassan

Pakistan’s export of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and related services to other countries increased by 5.4% in November of the current fiscal year, WealthPK reports. According to the data of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the volume of ICT export from the country was recorded at $233 million in November 2022, registering an increase of 5.4% as compared to $221 million in the same month of the previous financial year.

Similarly, the export of ICT from Pakistan also registered a 5.4% growth in November on a month-on-month basis. The data shows that in October 2022, the volume of ICT export also witnessed an increase of 7.28% compared to $206 million in September 2022. The volume of the ICT export reached $1.087 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal, showing an increase of 2.89% as compared to $830 million in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

An official of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MOITT) told WealthPK said that a 2.8% growth in the export of ICT was witnessed in October on a year-on-year basis. He added that MOITT, in collaboration with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), would take the SBP, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Ministry of Finance on board to enforce business-friendly policies.

“In October, the IT traders brought more remittances to the country as compared to September,” said the official. He said that Pakistan’s IT industry was doing good business abroad. However, he regretted that most IT experts and traders kept their money in other countries owing to the strict policies of the government and the devaluation of the Pakistani currency. He said that the IT industry was different from other sectors in terms of doing business. He noted that IT experts and service providers could easily keep their money in other countries as they did not need to avail a license for doing business there.

According to the data of SBP, ICT exports including computer services and call centre services showed a decline of 0.3 % during the first quarter of the current fiscal as compared to the same period of the previous financial year. The volume of IT exports was recorded at $633 million during the first quarter of the current financial year as compared to $635 million in the same period of the last fiscal.

Similarly, the IT and ITeS exports declined by around 10% on a month-on-month basis in September 2022 and remained at $206 million as compared to $228 million in August 2022. On a year-on-year basis, the sector exports decreased by around 5 % as compared to $215 million in September 2021. The volume of ICT exports, including telecommunication, computer and information services, reached an all-time high of $2.616 billion, showing a growth of 24.09 % in the financial year 2021-22 as compared to $2.108 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21, according to the data available with WealthPK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk