In the first five months of the current fiscal year 2022–23, export remittances for IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS), which include computer services and call center services, increased by 3% and totaled $1.087 billion, up from $1.051 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
According to State Bank of Pakistan data, sector export remittances climbed by 5% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis and were $233 million in November compared to $221 million in November 2021. When compared to $221 million in October 2022, the sector export remittances climbed by 5% month over month.
The ICT export remittances, including telecommunication, computer, and information services, reached an all-time high of $ 2.618 billion, a growth rate of 47.43 percent in the fiscal year 2021-22 compared to $ 2.108 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21.
Syed Aminul Haque, the federal minister of information technology and telecommunication, predicted that the aim of $5 billion in IT exports will be reached by June 2023. He added that the government is doing everything it can to guarantee a long-term growth trajectory for the IT industry and boost exports to $5 billion by 2023.
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has cautioned the government, though, that the telecom sector’s export remittances may suffer in addition to compromising its digital vision because of the non-implementation of agreed incentives, lack of consistency in policies, as well as the lack of resolving the tax and banks-related issues.
During the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2022–23, ITeS exports decreased by 0.3% and came to $633 million as opposed to $635 million during the same time of the previous fiscal year. Alarm bells were raised by the reduction in ITeS export remittances, and grave concerns were voiced among the affected parties.
Haque has raised the issues being faced by the sector in different meetings including the one held with the prime minister in the chair. Haque has said that the sector may face further decline if immediate attention were not paid. The minister has also stressed resolving the outstanding issues of taxation as well as related banks.
