KARACHI: The Information Technology (IT) sector of Pakistan witnessed a significant milestone in March 2024, with the country recording its highest-ever monthly IT exports, ARY News reported on Monday.
As per the Topline security reports, the monthly IT exports reached at US $306 million, up by 37 percent YoY and by 19 percent MoM in March 2024, surpassing the previous record of exports, US $303 million, in December 2023.
This surge in year-on-year (YoY) IT exports, which exceeded the 12-month average of US$238 million, has been attributed to various factors including:
- The relaxation in the permissible retention limit by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), increased it from 35% to 50% in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts.
- The stability of the PKR currency encouraged IT companies to remit their foreign income and deposit it in local accounts.
In the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024 (9MFY24), IT exports amounted to US$2.28 billion, marking an increase of 17 percent YoY against the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Furthermore, the net IT exports (Exports-Imports) also recorded growth in March 2024, raising by 37 percent YoY and 20 percent MoM to reach US $275 million. These net IT export numbers in March 2024 also exceeded the 12-month average of US$208mn. In 9MFY24 net IT exports recorded a growth of 16 percent YoY, reaching US $1.99 billion.
Expressing optimism at a recent interview with a private TV channel, the newly appointed Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, stated that IT exports are likely to reach US $3.5 billion by the end of the year.
“Although there has been growth in gross IT exports during 9MFY24, the government’s target appears challenging,” Topline Securities highlighted.
Meanwhile, the experts anticipating that the gross IT exports for FY24 will likely loom around US $3.0 billion compared to the US $2.6 billion recorded last year.
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