Islamabad: According to the most recent data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan’s IT exports remittances and IT-enabled services (ITeS), which include computer and call center services, increased by 42% to $292 million in September 2024 from $206 million in the same period the previous year.
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Following the month of September 24, IT exports increased by 425% YoY but got lower by 2% MoM. However, the amount still made 44% of the overall services exports. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2024-25, technology exports surged to 34% at $876 million compared to $656 million in 1QFY24. IT exports remittances increased by 24% from $2.596 billion in fiscal year 2022–2023 to an all-time high of $3.223 billion in fiscal year 2023–2024.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, explained that three factors cause the year-over-year IT exports increase: (i) the expansion of the clientele of IT export companies worldwide, particularly in the GCC region; (ii) the State Bank of Pakistan’s relaxation of the permissible retention limit, which increased it from 35% to 50% in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts; and (iii) the stability of the PKR, which encourages IT exporters to return a larger percentage of their profits to Pakistan.
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As per the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey, 62% of IT companies are upholding specialized foreign currency accounts. Moreover, the launch of a new Equity Investment Abroad (EIA) category by SBP in July 2024, expressly for IT companies focused on exports, was a significant move. IT exporters can now use up to 50% of the profits from specialist foreign currency accounts to purchase interest (shareholding) in companies located overseas. Also, with the help of this development, IT exporters can now send money back to Pakistan.
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