Pakistan’s IT exports up by 31.79pc

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ICT services export remittances saw a remarkable surge to US$ 257 million in February 2024, marking an impressive increase of 31.79 percent compared to $195 million in February 2023, IT ministry data said.

According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, ICT export remittances witnessed a substantial rise by $ 257 million (14.94%) to reach $ 1.977 billion during July 2023 to February 2024 of FY2023-24, compared to $ 1.720 billion reported for the same period last year.

The surge can be attributed to the concerted efforts of the Ministry of IT & Telecommunication and the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in collaboration with the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to enhance the ease of doing business environment.

Their initiatives have bolstered confidence within the IT industry, resulting in an uptick in IT & ITeS export remittance receipts.

However, it’s worth noting that in comparison to January 2024, ICT services export remittances experienced a slight decline of US$ 8 million (-3.02%) in February 2024.

Furthermore, the IT & ITeS Industry achieved a trade surplus of US$ 1.721 billion, the highest among all services, accounting for 87.05% of total ICT export remittances during July 2023 to February 2024 of FY2023-24. This represents a notable increase of 13.07% compared to the trade surplus of $ 1.522 billion during the same period last year.

In contrast, the services sector as a whole recorded a trade deficit of $ 1.892 billion during July 2023 to February 2024 of FY2023-24.

The ICT sector’s exports of US$ 1.977 billion stand out as the highest among all Services, comprising 38.92% of the total export of services, with ‘Other Business Services’ trailing behind at $ 1.058 billion