Govt pledge to increase IT exports to $10 billion lauded. IT sector can get the country out of the dollar and other crises. Payment system, low-cost financing required for IT expansion.

(November-27-2023)

Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain said on Monday that the government will increase the productivity of the IT sector and boost exports to ten billion dollars in few years which is laudable.

He added that the IT sector can play a central role in reducing unemployment and stabilizing the economy, which needs to be given all possible support. 

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said the government announced its strategy to promote the IT sector which is highly laudable and encouraging. 

The Special Investment Council (SIFC) has played a central role in enabling this sector and removing departmental obstacles. It will also pave the way for investment from other countries, he added. 

It is necessary to activate the Pakistan Software Export Board further and consult with the organizations working in this sector, he demanded. 

According to the official data, IT exports are currently 2 billion 600 million dollars, and the government intends to increase the number of people working in this sector by 200,000, which will increase the exports to 5 billion dollars. 

Many freelancing centres will be established nationwide, and IT companies will be allowed to keep dollars, increasing revenue by several billion dollars. 

The business leader said that establishing the Pakistan Startup Fund will help achieve the target of 10 billion dollars by increasing the total volume of IT exports by another billion dollars. 

Mian Zahid Hussain said this sector suffers from various problems; if they are solved, things can improve rapidly. Those working in the IT sector cannot easily transact with overseas customers.

Moreover, the organization of freelancers should be given the importance it should be given, and many experts complain that they should be listened to. 

The tax system is also very complex; IT companies also have to go through a long process for overseas payments, while in other countries, it is done in seconds. For this reason, many IT experts and companies do not transfer the earned dollars to Pakistan but keep them in foreign banks because it is easy to pay from there.  

He said that sixty per cent of the country’s population consists of youth who, if provided with proper training, cheap loans and a freelancing platform, can change the fate of Pakistan by earning billions of dollars and end the country’s dollar crisis forever.