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delegation of Foundation of Peace & Development visited Primary School. The School was built by the Foundation in 10 months and admitted 500 students. Local government has decided to upgrade it to a Middle School.
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China - Pakistan Economic Corridor - CPEC
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delegation of Foundation of Peace & Development visited Primary School. The School was built by the Foundation in 10 months and admitted 500 students. Local government has decided to upgrade it to a Middle School.
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Islamabad Metro Bus Project Under Construction....Starts from Peshawar Morr and ends at New Islamabad International Airport.... - ....
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81 Km Swat Motorway under construction...
The construction of an 81 Km long four lanes Expressway in the remote area of KPK is expected to become a transformative step for the province, generating tremendous benefits for its people. It will contributing towards development of the region.
The Motorway will connect Karnal Sher Khan interchange on (M-1) with Chakdara, tunneling its way through the mountain at Palai & Ala Dhand areas. 2 Km of the rd fall in Distt Nowshera, 18 Km in Distt Swabi, 40 Km in Distt Mardan & 21 Km in Distt Malakand.
The total ROW of the expressway is 80 mtrs. Work is in full swing and initial 50 Km i.e from Karnal Sher Khan interchange on (M-1) to Katlang will be completed by July 2018 and remaining 31 Km will be complete by April 2019.
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Criticism on should not affect China....
There has been severe criticism on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by the foreign media, journalists and intellectuals, citing multiple reasons that the project is counter beneficial to Pakistan.
The Chinese officials have always said that they are open to criticism on CPEC, however they should not be bogged down by the amount of criticism that pours in. Its imperative for China to become a vocal advocate of Pakistan and CPEC, especially since it is heavily invested in Pakistan, to counter the negative propaganda that prevails among the masses.
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Marble & other stones are being exported via Port. is rich in resources. It can earn a lot through mining & export.........
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Expo in , home-made & Cultural products, Ceramics, stone-Jewelry put on Pakistani stalls. China invited Pakistani local made companies to take the benefits via Expo & bring to business opportunities...
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Board Of Investment, Government Of Sindh collaboration with Economic & Commercial office of Consulate General of , sends govt of Sindh's officer's to Beijing to learn about Special Economic Zones (Sezs). China is a global pioneer of SEZs model of economic growth........
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’s IT Exports Make History By Crossing $1 Billion Mark
According to the data updated by State Bank of Pakistan, exports of IT and IT-related services increased to $1.067 billion in the financial year 2017-18, as compared to $939 million recorded in the financial year 2016-17, showing a double-digit growth of 13%.
This is the second consecutive time the IT industry attained an all-time high record. The country also achieved the highest value of IT remittances in the previous financial year 2016-17.
The value of IT exports is considered as three times more than the remittances reported by the central bank, which means the overall number crossed the mark of $3 billion in the outgoing financial year. The discrepancy of the exports receipt of IT sector is due to the fact the export income is reflected in various other sectors such as financial, automobile, and health sectors.
Besides, a handsome amount of exports earning driven by freelancers is landed under overseas remittances, which causes a misreporting of export numbers. There are various local companies of various sizes functioning through Dubai and other countries while their services and products are delivered in Pakistan. The earnings are sent under overseas remittances by companies and workers, hence the real number of exports are not determined properly.
Factors Behind Exports Growth
Export of IT and IT-enabled services grew mainly due to the increasing demand of Pakistan’s products and services in the exporting countries, which have been improving gradually in the last couple of months.
The business of big companies has improved as many foreign clients are visiting Pakistan due to the better security image, said Barkan Saeed Chairman Pakistan Association of Software Houses (P@SHA).
Besides, the depreciation of the Rupee against the Dollar is one of the two major reasons which reflected the growth in export numbers.
Pakistan’s exports to IT and IT-enabled services are mainly concentrated (by 60 percent) to the US market, followed by European countries with 38 percent share, with exports to Middle Eastern countries following.
Pakistan’s IT industry is mainly “outsourcing industry” where services are provided to companies abroad. A majority of the revenue comes from software exports and services.
The Breakup of IT Industry Exports of Services and Products
Heads of IT Exports Financial Year 2017-18 Financial Year 2016-17
Call Center $104.468 million $82.859 million
Telecommunication Services $231.882 million $282.911 million
Hardware Consultancy $4.171 million $3.442 million
Software Consultancy $287.716 million $227.260 million
Computer Repair/Maintenance $1.761 million $ 0.737 million
Export of Computer Software $319.547 million $264.065 million
News Agency Services $1.023 million $1.011 million
Information Services $2.277 million $0.539 million
Other Computer Services $113.685 million $76.366 million
Source: State Bank of Pakistan
Issues and Challenges
The central bank, along with industry stakeholders, has been working on the issue of reporting export earnings. The industry is also now reporting more and more with the right codes, however a lot of work still needs to be done in this direction, said Chairman P@SHA.
Many freelancers drawing nearly $1 billion earnings bring money into their personal accounts in Pakistan. If the State Bank can resolve this issue, our real export figures can go to $2 billion easily, he further said.
Other challenges include a visa issue from the USA for Pakistani entrepreneurs, solving which can further increase Pakistan’s exports of IT and IT-ES manifold.
Besides, high taxation is also a major problem for the industry, which pushes up the cost of doing business for freelancers and smaller companies along with poor ease of doing business.
Government’s Incentives for IT Sector
Government realizes that it has an important role in providing a conducive environment for the growth of the IT industry through infrastructure and HR development. The government has the vision to enhance the exports of this sector to $5 billion per annum by 2020, which is not an impossible target.
The government has approved the following incentives for the IT sector, aimed its increasing exports.
Zero income tax on IT exports till June 2025.
5% cash reward on IT exports, similar to rewards for other sectors such as textile, leather and sports.
5% Sales tax of on ITeS within the federal areas.
Setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) for the tech sector to be defined by the BOI and MoITT.
Access to financing from commercial banks at preferential rates.
9-Year Exports of IT Industry At Glance
Financial Year Exports Value Yearly Growth
2017-18 $1063 million 13%
2016-17 $938.640 19%
2015-16 $788.640 -0.4%
2014-15 $ 821.510 0.60 %
2013-14 $ 816.616 1.70 %
2012-13 $ 802.924 74.4 %
2011-12 $ 460.251 3.87 %
2010-11 $ 443.063 -0.05 %
2009-10 $ 443.326 16.6 %
Future Outlook
With the announcement of an incentive package by the previous government, the stakeholders of IT industry believe that the industry will expectedly grow its productivity and footprint manifold at a domestic and international level.
The government has already started working on improving ease of doing business for the IT industry which will impact positively on the sentiments of the business community. The central bank is also working on the issue of reporting IT remittances through streamlining codes of services to improve exports values and to realize the true potential of the industry.
A number of IT parks are being developed in the country along with the continuous expansion of broadband services in different cities to make the ecosystem attractive and lucrative for IT companies, entrepreneurs, and starter-ups.
The expansion of broadband services countrywide has been helpful in increasing IT exports in the freelancers’ space as now many freelancers from all over Pakistan are now able to provide services.
Instead of expanding its business in the outsourcing business, Pakistani IT companies need to shift their focus on product development and marketing in order to go towards areas of product or intellectual property development for accelerated growth in exports income.
Hopefully, Pakistani companies with offshore offices as well as revenues and investments parked in different countries abroad will reap the benefits of incentives and business opportunities in Pakistan at a time when foreign companies are looking to make investments in Pakistan with the development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
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‘Lotte Chemical’ shows interest in Pakistan’s chemical manufacturing industry
Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA) Monday urged the forthcoming government to include the chemical industry in its first 100 days plan and form a task force to tap offers of foreign investors for establishing Crude-Naphtha Cracker Petrochemical Complex.
PCMA Secretary-General Iqbal Kidwai said here that after the investment offers from the UAE and China, a serious proposition had also been received from South Korea’s world-renowned group ‘the Lotte Chemical’.
He also appreciated the services of Adnan Iqbal, Commercial Counsellor in Pakistan embassy in Seoul, who had held a meeting with Lotte Chemical to share the information provided by the PCMA on the need for a Petrochemical Complex, bearing crude refinery and a naphtha steam cracker in Pakistan.
He said that the PCMA, since its inception, has been highlighting the need for a Petrochemical Complex in Pakistan and efforts have ultimately attracted the attention of local and foreign investors to invest in this momentous project, which requires strong patronage and support from the government to bring the project to life.
He was confident that the complex when established, would develop the downstream of the chemical industry by producing hundreds of high-value chemicals within Pakistan, which will gradually decrease the imports of such chemicals with a single first-year impact of around $2-3 billion import substitutions.
He said that the newly elected government can easily put a feather into their hat by just patronising the establishment of the Petrochemical complex by formulating a task force in consultation with the PCMA.
PCMA Secretary-General further informed that the chemical imports of Pakistan amount to more than $14 billion, which is almost 17 per cent of the total import bill and each year, there is an average increase of 7 per cent on this account.
“Although we have made considerable progress in basic inorganic chemicals like Soda Ash, Caustic Soda, Sulphuric Acid and Chlorine with sufficient production capacity, the lack of availability of other chemicals including petrochemicals leads to dependence on imports which surely does not benefit the economy”, the PCMA secretary general added
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No objection to - gas project:
ISLAMABAD: The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan, Jean-François Cautain, said on Monday that the European Union was ready to work with the new government of Pakistan in security, economy, GSP-Plus, education, and rural development sectors.
He said this during a meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan here at Banigala. He visited Imran to congratulate him on his party’s victory in the recent elections.
The EU ambassador maintained that the European Union had no objection to the proposed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and that they were ready to help Pakistan with regard to removal of its name from the FATF grey list, says the PTI Central Media Department.
The European Union, the ambassador informed Imran, would also assist Pakistan’s new government in getting investment from the union member countries. “The European Union has a desire for stability and development in Pakistan,” he noted.
Imran welcomed the ambassador at his residence and thanked him for his good wishes. PTI's senior leaders, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Dr Shahzad Waseem were also present on the occasion.