KARACHI: Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) exports increased by 35 percent to $1.21 billion in the four months of the current fiscal year, the central bank data showed on Monday.
Pakistan recorded IT exports of $330 million in October, marking a 39 percent increase compared with the same month last year and a 13 percent rise from the previous month. According to an analyst at Topline Securities, this figure exceeds the 12-month average of $287 million in IT exports. Notably, this marks the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year growth in IT exports, beginning in October 2022.
The analyst in a report attributed the year-over-year increase to several factors: IT export companies expanding their client base globally, particularly in the GCC region; the State Bank of Pakistan relaxing the permissible retention limit for Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts from 35 percent to 50 percent; and the stability of the Pakistani rupee, which encourages IT exporters to repatriate a larger portion of their profits back to Pakistan.
“The MoM increase in IT exports is due to a higher number of working days in October (23) compared with September (20). Export proceeds per day were recorded at $14.3 million for Oct-24 vs. $14.6 million in Sep-24,” said the analyst.
According to a Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey, 62 percent of IT companies are maintaining specialized foreign currency accounts. A major development in FY25 was SBP adding a new category of Equity Investment Abroad (EIA), specifically for export-oriented IT companies. IT exporters can now acquire interest (shareholding) in entities abroad utilizing up to 50% proceeds from specialized foreign currency accounts. This development will further boost the confidence of IT exporters to remit proceeds back to Pakistan.
Net IT Exports (Exports-Imports) displayed a monthly number of $299 million and increased by 47 percent YoY in October. This is the highest-ever monthly figure. These net IT export numbers in October are also higher than the last 12-month average of $253 million. “We believe, IT sector will continue its growth trajectory and momentum with likely growth of 10-15 percent for FY25 to $3.5-3.7 billion,” the analyst said.
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