The exports of IT and IT-enabled services have crossed the $800 million mark by the end of the third quarter of the financial year 2018-19, showing a slight growth of 2.1 percent compared with the same period of the previous financial year.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), exports of IT and IT-enabled services increased to $808 million in the period of July to March of the financial year 2018-19 as compared with $791 million recorded last year.
Software consultancy earned the highest with a receipt of $258 million. It was followed by software exports valued at $208 million. Exports of telecommunication services stand at $150 million. Computer services drew exports of $107 million and Call Centers earned $74 million during the nine-month period.
The exports of IT and IT-enabled services are much lower-than-expected or sluggish considering the roadmap and plans chalked out in the previous year despite the fact that the new government also has ambitious plans to promote this sector.
The growth in receipts of IT exports could be considered as sluggish or negative considering the impact of Rupee depreciation against Dollar.
Roughly, the Rupee depreciated by nearly 15 percent against Dollar during the period of July to March. If these numbers are calculated with depreciation’s impact, the negative growth stands nearly 13 percent.
In recent months, not only the government but the central bank also made special arrangements to improve facilitation to the freelancers of IT services and reporting of IT exports.
During the nine months of the current financial year, average export earning of $90 million was received by the country, and will most likely surpass the $1 billion mark in the remaining months of the financial year.
IT exports created history in the last financial year 2017-18, recording all-time high exports of $1 billion.
What were those steps? There were no steps that I know which helped freelancers at all. Even now our banks don’t recognize freelancing as a job or even a source of income. They should allow Indie app developers like me to withdraw Foreign currency cheques instead of making excuses for refusing to cash them. Other methods like wire transfer usually charge 25$ per transaction and have a higher minimum withdrawal limit.
100% agreed.. Bro I felt degraded when I went to bank for UBL wiz card and after long interview the moment I mentioned that I’m a freelancer they told me WIZ Cards are currently unavailable…
ارے بھائی، یہ ہم پردیسیوں کی جابز نہیں جانتے تو آپ کو کیا جانیں گے۔ تقریبا ۲ سال پہلے میں اے بی ایل میں اکاونٹ کھلوانے گیا اپنی سعودیہ کی جاب اور آئی ڈی، پاسپورٹ سب کچھ دیا، اکاوٗنٹ کھلنے کے کچھ دن بعد پتہ چلا کہ میں صرف چیک بک کا حقدار ہوں کیوں کہ بیرون ملک پاکستانیوں کو الائیڈ بینک ڈیبٹ کارڈ نہیں دیتی۔ بے حد حیرانی ہوئی۔ یعنی نا کارڈ نا آن لائن بینکنک۔ بینک کا اسٹاف بولا کہ اگر میں ایک جعلی سرٹیفیکٹ بنا کر لاوں جس میں لکھا ہو کہ میری یہاں دکان وغیرہ ہے تو کارڈ بن جائے گا۔ یعنی جھوٹ بولوں۔ عجیب پالیسی ہے اے بی ایل کی۔
A growth of 2.1% in IT exports as compared to previous year is no growth at all!
In fact, as mentioned above, after taking rupee depreciation of 15% into account, this is a negative growth of 13%. Govt should plan restructuring of exports-promotion organizations including TDAP, PSEB, etc. Otherwise, 2% growth doesnt justify the heavy annual expenditure on such govt organizations.
Is that all? India IT industry is $150-180B and exports top $100B annually.
Interestingly the Purana Pakistan regime claimed $3B IT exports in previous years and then revised it to have “grown” to $1.8B next year !!
Pakistan IT industry is monopolized by the same friends and family elite (crushing its middle class cottage IT industry via payment restrictions.) These elite scream big but in secret beg for Indian IT leftovers. Today these thugs are mere coolies to their Indian counterparts, just as Indian IT folks were coolies in the eighties !