During the fiscal year 2022-2023, the highly promising information technology industry experienced an unexpectedly minor decrease in its exports, bringing the total to $2.6 billion.
When compared to the export revenues of $2.619 billion received in the previous financial year 2021-22, the export receipts from the IT sector showed a slight decline of 0.5% or 14 million on a year-on-year basis, falling to $2.605 billion in the financial year 2022-23 from $2.619 billion received in the previous financial year 2021-22. The data that was released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed these findings.
Despite the fact that the value of the export remittances has slightly decreased, it is still significantly lower than the prediction that was made throughout the course of the previous year.
Previous projections stated that IT exports could have easily surpassed the $4 billion mark this year, but the growth of exports in its real potential was delayed by a number of problems, including the lack of government support that is sustainable in terms of rules and regulations.
According to Noman Said, a businessman in the information technology industry, the inconsistent policies and lack of timely implementation on the part of the government appear to have affected the trust of the exporters, which in turn resulted in the growth of IT exports being negative.
He stated that companies that export information technology have a need for long-term policies, particularly the maintenance of foreign exchange accounts, in order to guarantee the success of their offshore operations. Unfortunately, Pakistan did not provide this facility in a timely manner.
IT Exports Dropped to $2.6 billion in FY23
In addition to this, the level of competition that Pakistani information technology companies have on the international market is an important one. According to Noman Said, CEO of SI Global Solutions, a decrease in Pakistan’s information technology exports may have occurred in the event that other nations or areas were able to provide more competitive pricing, higher quality services, or greater technological breakthroughs.
Exports of information technology are being held back from growing and becoming more competitive due to inadequate infrastructure, limited access to new technologies, and inadequate internet connectivity. If Pakistani information technology companies had to contend with difficulties in any of these areas, their capacity to effectively compete may have suffered as a result.
The information technology industry can benefit from growth stimulation and increased investment if favourable laws and regulations are put into place. On the other hand, he came to the conclusion that the expansion of information technology exports could have been slowed by unfavourable policies or regulatory limits in Pakistan. These could have taken the form of excessive taxes, bureaucratic impediments, or limited backing from the government.
