ISLAMABAD: The IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances comprising computer services and call center services declined by 15 percent on month-on-month (MoM) in July 2022 and remained $ 199 million compared to $ 235 million in June 2022, says the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

However, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the sector exports remittances increased by 1.5 percent when compared to $ 196 million in July 2021.

The ICT export remittances, including telecommunication, computer and information services reached an all-time high of $ 2.616 billion a growth rate of 47.43 percent during the fiscal year 2021-22, in comparison to $ 2.108 billion during the fiscal year 2020-21.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haq has stated that the government is taking all possible steps to ensure long-term IT industry growth trajectory and to enhance IT industry exports to $ 5 billion by 2023, while the same will be increased to $ 15 billion in the next few years.

The government is evaluating attractive incentives for the industry such as regulatory reforms and tax exemptions. Certain other recommendations are also under consideration. Moreover, Cyber Security Policy and Personal Data Protection have also been finalised, the minister said.

The spokesperson of the ministry stated that more than 6,000 Pakistan-based IT companies were providing IT products and services to entities in over 100 countries.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022