Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman has said that Pakistan’s growth rate of IT exports have jumped 150% over the last five years.

She stated this while chairing the 38th meeting of the Board of Directors of Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) here on Thursday.

The meeting was convened to review various initiatives for accelerating growth of the IT sector during 2018-21.

The Board discussed some proposals at length that would position Pakistan’s IT & ITeS industry for the next phase of growth.

Federal Secretary IT Aamir Ashraf Khawaja, Member Telecom Mudassar Hussain, Member IT Syed Raza Shah, Chairman Pasha Barkan Saeed, Acting MD PSEB Syed Ali Abbas Hasani and other Board members were also present in the meeting.

Pakistan’s IT & ITeS Sector has developed phenomenally due to ongoing efforts and generous incentives and facilitation granted to the sector. Some of these incentives include:

income tax exemption on IT exports till June 2019,

100% foreign ownership,

100% repatriation of capital and dividends,

3-year tax exemption for IT startups,

tax holiday for venture capital funds till June 2024.

Mrs. Rehman said that Pakistan’s growth rate of IT & ITeS exports have jumped 150% over the last five years, which is a remarkable achievement.

Anusha Rehman said that every possible effort is being made to enhance growth of the IT Industry in Pakistan.

As a result, the IT industry is growing in terms of the number of companies, revenue, exports and workforce every year, thereby demonstrating clear confidence in the ability of the local companies to deliver IT solutions and services which meet expectations of foreign clients.

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The board was apprised that an increase of 15% has been witnessed in the number of call centers during the last one year.

The Minister said that, “although we have achieved our major targets but there is much more to do to enhance the Pakistani IT sector’s representation at international forums.”

She directed the Pakistan Software Export Board management to coordinate with all stakeholders and enhance Pakistan’s participation in key international events. She also said that there’s a need to enhance the contribution of the IT sector to Pakistan’s economy through foreign exchange earnings and job creation. Last but not the least, she mentioned that PSEB should take all possible measures to brand Pakistan as an ideal destination for IT outsourcing.