ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s information technology sector has achieved a historic milestone, recording its highest-ever monthly exports of $366 million in September, according to Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad. Analysts attribute this surge to the expanding global footprint of Pakistani IT firms and the relative stability of the national currency.
Data released by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication shows that ICT export remittances rose by $180 million, reaching $1.057 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (July–September). This marks a significant improvement from $877 million recorded in the same period last year.
Pakistan has been working to draw foreign investment into key growth sectors particularly IT to help steer the economy out of a prolonged crisis. In recent years, several Pakistani tech firms have successfully entered new international markets, especially within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
“Pakistan’s IT and tech exports hit an all-time high of $366 million in September 2025,” Schehzad announced on X (formerly Twitter). The IT ministry confirmed the figures, noting that the exports rose 25.3 percent year-on-year, up from $292 million in September 2024.
A report by Topline Securities, a leading Karachi-based brokerage firm, noted that September’s IT exports exceeded the 12-month average of $326 million. It further stated that total IT exports for the first quarter of FY2025 stood at $1.06 billion, reflecting a 21 percent year-on-year increase.
According to Topline, the robust growth was driven by several factors:
- Expansion of Pakistani IT companies’ client base across global markets, particularly in the GCC.
- The State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to relax the permissible retention limit in exporters’ specialized foreign currency accounts from 35 percent to 50 percent.
- Allowing equity investments abroad through these foreign currency accounts.
- The stability of the Pakistani rupee (PKR), which encouraged IT exporters to repatriate a greater share of their earnings.
A recent Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey revealed that 62 percent of IT companies are currently maintaining specialized foreign currency accounts. One of the key policy developments this fiscal year was the central bank’s introduction of a new category Equity Investment Abroad (EIA) exclusively for export-oriented IT firms. This allows them to invest up to 50 percent of their retained earnings in overseas ventures or subsidiaries.
While the government has set an ambitious $5 billion IT export target for fiscal year 2026, Topline Securities expects the sector to maintain a growth trajectory of 18–20 percent during the year, driven by global expansion, favorable policies, and continued investor confidence.
