IT Exports Decline in FY23 Despite Tall Claims by Govt

Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances declined by around 0.6 percent during the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23) and stood at $2.605 billion compared to $2.619 billion during the fiscal year 2021-22. According to the official data, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the sector’s exports remittances stood at $236 million in June 2023,  the same as in June 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the sector’s export remittances also remained stable compared to exports of $236 million in May 2023. The IT and the ITeS export remittances, including telecommunication, computer, and information services, reached an all-time high of $2.619 billion, a growth rate of 47.43 percent in FY22 compared to $2.108 billion in FY21. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication had envisaged that the IT exports target of $5 billion would be achieved by June 2023. However, it had also warned the government that on account of the non-implementation of agreed incentives, lack of consistency in policies, as well as, without resolving the tax and banks-related issues, the telecom sector exports remittances may suffer besides compromising its digital vision.