The IT export sector has experienced robust growth as it closed 2024 strong by displaying a remarkable 12 percent Month on Month (MoM) growth in December. According to reports, this marks the 15th consecutive month of Year on Year (YoY) IT export growth, with exports surging to an all-time monthly high of $348 million.

 

The news surfaced as analysts suggested that the government’s directives to set up firewalls and internet slowdowns were significantly hurting IT exporters. However, in a remarkable show of resilience, IT exports reached a staggering $1.86 billion in the third quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25, according to a senior research analyst at Top Line Securities.

 

The remarkable growth can be attributed to Pakistani firms securing more international contracts. Reports have revealed that the bulk of these contracts have been signed with entities in the Gulf countries.

 

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched a category of Equity Investment Abroad (EIA) for IT companies that have a specialised foreign currency account. This development will allow IT exporters to purchase equity in foreign companies using 50 percent of their revenues. This spells great news for local IT companies as they will soon receive dividends on their shares.

 

This is expected to boost Pakistan's Gross National Income (GNI), which has been rising with the increasing levels of immigration in the country. In 2023-24 alone, an alarming 1.589 million Pakistanis left what they call ‘home’ in search of better financial prospects abroad. According to reports, a respectable percentage of these immigrants were IT experts.

 

With the IT export sector growing even in the face of rising immigration of experts, it is apparent that the country has no shortage of professionals in the field. Furthermore, some analysts are dubbing the rising immigration levels of IT experts as a boost in exports by highlighting how this effectively raises the GNI.

 

If the sector continues on this trajectory of growth, experts are predicting that Shehbaz Sharif’s economic plan ‘Uraan Pakistan’ may not be as farfetched as analysts initially pegged it to be. Under the plan, Shehbaz Sharif has set an ambitious IT export target of $10 billion, which is to be met by FY 29.

 

Local businesses will also benefit from the growing exports as a higher national income boosts aggregate demand in the economy. Essentially, business owners may soon witness a growth in the demand for their goods, which may translate into higher revenues and, ultimately, higher profit margins.