Pakistan’s IT export sector experienced a slight setback in May 2025, recording US$ 329 million in monthly exports—a 1% year-on-year (YoY) decline, though a 4% increase compared to April. Despite the dip, May’s figures remained above the 12-month average of US$ 314 million, marking the first YoY decrease after 19 months of steady growth, according to Topline Securities.

Daily IT export proceeds in May averaged US$ 16.5 million, up from US$ 15.9 million in April. Over the first 11 months of FY25, total IT exports rose to approximately US$ 3.5 billion—a 19% YoY increase.

This growth is attributed to several key factors:

• Expansion of IT companies’ global client bases, especially across the GCC
• Relaxed retention limits by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), raising the cap from 35% to 50% for Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts
• Newly introduced permissions for equity investments abroad using these accounts
• Improved PKR stability, which encouraged repatriation of export earnings

Pakistani tech firms have stepped up their international outreach by participating in major industry events such as LEAP 2025 in Saudi Arabia and Web Summit Qatar.

A recent Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) survey showed that 62% of IT firms now maintain specialized foreign currency accounts.

Another key update: SBP has introduced a new “Equity Investment Abroad” (EIA) category exclusively for IT exporters. This allows companies to invest up to 50% of their foreign proceeds into overseas ventures, further incentivizing remittance inflows.

Net IT exports (exports minus imports) rose to US$ 294 million in May, reflecting a 1% YoY and 2% month-on-month increase—also above the 12-month average of US$ 272 million.

Industry insiders project that total FY25 IT exports may close around US$ 3.8 billion, a 17% annual increase. Under the ‘Uraan Pakistan’ initiative, the government aims to push IT exports to US$ 10 billion by FY29, requiring a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28%.