KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, Mian Zahid Hussain said that IT exports can increase by one billion dollars as compared to the last fiscal year.
He said that the volume of IT exports last year was 2.6 billion dollars, which is likely to increase by one billion dollars this year, but it is nothing compared to the neighbouring country whose exports stand at 320 billion dollars.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that our annual IT exports could jump to 25 billion dollars with efforts in the right direction.
He said that the IT sector has a one percent share of Pakistan’s GDP and provides employment to more than three hundred thousand people. This important sector has seen some improvement from October 2023; a fifteen percent increase has been recorded in the first eight months of this year. He said that in addition to private companies and freelancers, the stability of the rupee and facilities from the central bank has also played an important role in the development of the IT sector.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan’s IT industry is taking off, but a comprehensive road map is needed in this regard. Pakistani companies and freelancers are facing banking problems for which the central bank has taken commendable steps but there is still a lot to be done. He observed that it will be difficult to fully exploit this important sector’s potential without providing an enabling environment.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan ranks second in the world in terms of the number of freelancers for whom, if proper education and training is arranged, not only can unemployment be significantly reduced, but also a revolution in the country’s economy can also be brought.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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