KARACHI: Pakistan posted monthly IT exports of $324 million in November, up 25% year-over-year but down 2% month-over-month despite internet crises and firewall problems.
These monthly IT exports exceed the $295 million 12-month average. Since October 2023, this is the fourteenth consecutive month that IT exports have increased year over year.
According to Top Line Securities’ report, IT exports increased by 33% to $1.53 billion in 5MFY25.
According to the report, the reason for the annual increase in IT exports is the expanding clientele of IT export companies worldwide, particularly in the GCC region; the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) relaxation of the allowable retention limit, which increased it from 35 percent to 50 percent in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts; and the stability of the Pakistani rupee, which encourages IT exporters to repatriate a larger percentage of their profits to Pakistan.
However, November’s shorter working days (21 days) compared to October’s (23 days) are the reason for the MoM decline in IT exports. November’s export earnings were $15.4 million per day, up from $14.3 million in October.
According to Topline Research, the nation’s IT firms actively interact with clients around the world. Prominent IT firms have attended the Pak-US Tech Investment Conference and Oslo Innovation Week 2024.
A survey conducted by the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) found that 62% of IT firms keep specialized foreign exchange accounts.
SBP’s creation of a new Equity Investment Abroad (EIA) category, tailored to IT firms with an export focus, was a significant move in FY25. IT exporters can now use up to 50% of the profits from specialist foreign currency accounts to purchase interest (shareholding) in overseas companies. According to the research report, this change will further increase IT exporters’ confidence in sending profits back to Pakistan.
