Dawood cherishes 42% surge in IT exports

Hopes they will surpass assigned target in fiscal year 2021-22

KARACHI:

Pakistan’s exports of information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services have increased by 42% to $635 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021-22 compared to $445 million in the same quarter of the previous year, said Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood.

Commenting on the growth trend on his official twitter handle on Monday, the minister voiced hope that Pakistan would surpass the target for IT exports in the ongoing fiscal year.

“I congratulate all the stakeholders for their efforts and dedication,” Dawood wrote.

Pakistan mainly exported software services to IT companies in the west, information and communications technology (ICT) expert Parvez Iftikhar told The Express Tribune.

Appreciating the growth figures, he highlighted that Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services possessed immense potential which could be tapped by ensuring ease of doing business in Pakistan.

He requested the government to play its due role in providing safeguarding IT companies from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), investing in quality IT education and skills development and ensuring availability of high-speed internet.

He held the view that issues like replacement of tax-exemption with zero-duty tax regime and failed spectrum auction needed to be addressed on priority.

Iftikhar added that change in tax regime for IT companies substantially inflated their cost of doing business.

Topline Securities analyst Umair Naseer highlighted that the devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar had turned Pakistan’s IT services competitive in the global market.

He said that the local IT companies and freelancers were earning greater value of rupee due to higher exchange rate, which had enabled them to pitch discounted rates to the western companies and attain higher amount of business.

On Monday, Pakistani rupee extended slide to an all-time low against the US dollar, said Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Tahir Abbas. He added that the local currency lost 0.24% against the greenback and closed at Rs174.43.

“Development of IT sector is the pathway to the future,” said SI Global CEO Noman Ahmed Said in comments to The Express Tribune.

Appreciating the improvement in Pakistan’s IT sector, he said that investment in human development was required to ensure sustainable growth.

“Surpassing the $2 billion mark is a commendable achievement but still massive untapped potential exists in Pakistan’s IT sector,” he said, adding that other countries had crossed the $100 billion mark in IT exports.

“Improvement and the morale to continue with this pace are important,” he highlighted.

India’s IT exports stood at around $200 billion mark, while South Korea’s IT exports reached $577 billion, he said.

“The future belongs to artificial intelligence, big data, internet of things, robotics, blockchain and cryptocurrencies hence specialised training is required to understand these emerging technologies,” he said, adding that Pakistan should “think big” rather than focusing on low-tech IT services.

Seed money, grants and low interest loans could further boost IT exports, he suggested.

Pakistan has abundance of raw talent, which has to be nurtured and trained to maximise the IT growth, he added.

He was of the view that Pakistan should consider international standards and training in order to compete with the global giants.

“All we need to do is simply invest in our human capital to prosper and soar,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2021.

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