Pakistan’s tech exports continue growth streak

Pakistan recorded monthly IT exports of $342 million in March, a 12% increase compared with the same month last year.

“These monthly IT exports are higher than the 12-month average of $311 million. This marks the 18th consecutive month of IT export growth, beginning in October 2023,” said Nasheed Malik of Topline Research.

Overall, IT exports in the first nine months of the current fiscal year totaled $2.8 billion, up 24% year-over-year.

Analysts attribute the rise in IT exports to several factors, including companies expanding their client base globally—particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region—and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increasing the permissible retention limit for Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts from 35% to 50%. Additionally, SBP has allowed equity investment abroad through these accounts, while stability in the Pakistani rupee has encouraged IT exporters to repatriate a larger portion of their profits.

Pakistani IT companies remain active in securing global clients. Recently, leading firms attended LEAP 2025 in Saudi Arabia and Web Summit Qatar 2025.

According to a Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey, 62% of IT companies maintain specialized foreign currency accounts.

A key development in fiscal year 2025 is SBP’s introduction of a new category, Equity Investment Abroad (EIA), specifically for export-oriented IT companies. IT exporters can now acquire interest (shareholding) in foreign entities by utilizing up to 50% of proceeds from their specialized foreign currency accounts. This move is expected to further boost exporters’ confidence in remitting proceeds back to Pakistan.

“We believe the IT sector will maintain its growth trajectory, with expected expansion of 10-15% in fiscal year 2025, reaching $3.5-$3.7 billion,” Malik said.