IT exports up 19% YoY in February to $305m

KARACHI: Pakistan recorded monthly IT exports of $305 million in February, up by 19 per cent YoY while down by 3.0 per cent MoM. These monthly IT exports in February are lower than the last 12-month average of $307 million.

This is the 17th consecutive month of YoY IT export growth, starting from October 2023. This takes 8MFY25 IT exports to $2.48 billion, up by 26 per cent YoY. Export proceeds per day were recorded at $16.1 million for February vs $13.6 million in January. Lower MoM exports are mainly due to a lower number of days in February.

According to Nasheed Malik, an analyst at Topline Securities, YoY jump in IT exports is due to IT export companies growing client base globally, especially in the GCC region; relaxation in the permissible retention limit by the State Bank of Pakistan, increasing it from 35 per cent to 50 per cent in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts; the allowance of equity investment abroad through these foreign currency accounts; and stability in the rupee, which encourages IT exporters to bring a higher portion of profits back to Pakistan.

Pakistani IT companies are active in engaging with global clients. Recently leading IT companies of Pakistan attended LEAP 2025 in Saudi Arabia and Web Summit Qatar 2025. According to a Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey, 62 per cent of IT companies are maintaining specialised foreign currency accounts.

A major development in FY25 is that the SBP has added a new category of equity investment abroad (EIA), specifically for export-oriented IT companies. IT exporters can now acquire interest (shareholding) in entities abroad by utilising up to 50 per cent proceeds from specialised foreign currency accounts. This development will further boost the confidence of IT exporters to remit proceeds back to Pakistan, said a Topline Securities analyst.

Net IT exports (exports-imports) displayed a monthly number of $278 million, which is an increase of 21 per cent YoY while down 1.0 per cent MoM. These net IT exports numbers in February are higher than the last 12-month average of $265 million.

“We believe, the IT sector will continue its growth trajectory and momentum with the likely growth of 10-15 per cent for FY25 to $3.5-3.7 billion. Under the ‘Uraan Pakistan’ national economic plan, the government has set a target of $10 billion IT exports by FY29. This implies the target CAGR of 28 per cent till FY29,” said the analyst.