Dr. Umar Saif, the Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, has unveiled a significant breakthrough addressing freelancers’ demands. he ministers informed that the ministry is all set to launch several digital initiatives next week including channelizing remittances through PayPal to make Pakistan a ‘Tech Destination’. Currently, there is no financial instrument available to facilitate payments. This involves enabling them to route remittances through the international gateway PayPal, aligning with the government’s strategy to launch digital initiatives and position Pakistan as a leading ‘Tech Destination.’ While PayPal won’t directly enter the Pakistani market, an agreement has been reached to facilitate remittances through a third-party channel, with the formal launch set for January 11, a pivotal step in meeting freelancers’ financial needs and promoting the country’s tech ecosystem.
Minister Saif emphasized further efforts to boost the export potential of the IT and telecom sector. A noteworthy policy intervention has been introduced, allowing companies to retain 50% of their export revenue in dollars in a local account, facilitating international expenses without restrictions. This proactive measure has already yielded positive results, with a 13% increase in export revenue within just one month. These initiatives underscore the government’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for IT industry growth, positioning Pakistan as a competitive player in the global tech landscape.
The minister while highlighting the initiatives taken by the government to bolster exports of the IT and telecom sector, stated that the sector’s official export is currently $2.6 billion, but the actual figure is around $5 billion as the industry parks a major portion outside the country to pay salaries of their international employees placed with foreign clients and incur monthly expenses for cloud hosting, marketing and sales on platforms like Google, Amazon, LinkedIn etc.
