Pakistan’s IT Exports Down for the First Time After 19 Months

Pakistan recorded monthly IT exports of US$ 329 million in May 2025, down by 1 percent YoY, while up by 4 percent MoM. These monthly IT exports in May 2025 are higher than the last 12-month average of US$ 314 million. This is the first YoY decline in IT exports after 19 consecutive months of growth, according to Topline Securities. Export proceeds per day were recorded at US$ 16.5 million for May 2025 vs. US$ 15.9 million in April 2025. This takes 11MFY25 IT exports to ~US$ 3.5 billion, up by 19 percent YoY. YoY jump in IT exports in 11MFY25 is due to IT export companies growing client base globally, especially in GCC region, relaxation in the permissible retention limit by the State Bank of Pakistan, increasing it from 35 percent to 50 percent in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts, allowance of equity investment abroad through these foreign currency accounts and the stability in PKR encouraging IT exporters to bring higher portion of profits back to Pakistan. Pakistani IT companies are active in engaging with global clients. Recently, leading IT companies of Pakistan attended LEAP 2025 in Saudi Arabia and Web Summit Qatar 2025. According to a Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey, 62 percent of IT companies are maintaining specialized foreign currency accounts. A major development in FY25 is that SBP has added a new category of Equity Investment Abroad (EIA), specifically for export-oriented IT companies. IT exporters can now acquire an interest (shareholding) in entities abroad by utilizing up to 50 percent of the proceeds from specialized foreign currency accounts. This development will further boost the confidence of IT exporters to remit proceeds back to Pakistan. Net IT Exports (Exports-Imports) showed a monthly value of US$ 294 million, representing a 1 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase and a 2 percent month-over-month (MoM) rise. These net IT export numbers in May 2025 are higher than the last 12-month average of US$ 272 million. According to channel checks from the IT industry, exports are likely to stand at ~US$ 3.8 billion in FY25 (+17 percent YoY). Under the ‘Uraan Pakistan’ national economic plan government has set a target of US$10bn in IT exports by FY29. This implies a target CAGR of 28 percent till FY29.