ISLAMABAD: The IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances comprising computer services and call centre services increased by around 12.7 percent during the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year 2023-24 and remained $1.720 billion compared to $1.525 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

The official data showed that ITeS exports’ remittances decreased by around 12.6 percent on a Month-on-Month (MoM) basis in January 2024 and remained $265 million compared to $303 million in December 2023.

On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the sector export remittances increased by around 39 percent compared to $190 million in January 2023.

The ICT export remittances, including telecommunication, computer, and information services, stood at $2.597 billion, a negative growth rate of around one percent in the fiscal year 2022-23 compared to $2.619 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22.

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif has unveiled the first-ever IT and ITeS export strategy to increase Pakistan’s IT exports, up to $10 billion in the next three years. The country has the potential to increase its exports to $12-15 billion.

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications had identified several constraints including inconsistency in policies, taxation issues and banking hurdles which are hampering the country’s information technology sector’s export potential of around $15 billion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024