APBF foresees massive boost in IT industry from CPEC

[Clutch]

APBF foresees massive boost in IT industry from CPEC

03/28/2018 | 11:59am


The CPEC is a transnational project which promises faster growth and infrastructural development of the whole region. It will effectively serve the long-term economic interests of both the countries.

As the All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) is a vibrant business association which promotes and protects the interests of the business community and industries in Pakistan, the association is pleased to see the big opportunities promised by CPEC, therefore it would urge the government to ensure that all provinces benefit equitably from this revolutionary project.

Pakistan's domestic IT market is expected to witness growth due to CPEC Projects. APBF President Ibrahim Qureshi said that; "We appreciate China's robust investment plans and trans-national initiative for boosting cross-border trade activities. It is essential that all provinces get equitable benefits, opportunities and budgets for strengthening their infrastructure and trade activities along-with IT."

In terms of the current scheme CPEC will include construction of cross border OFC (optical fiber) system between China and Pakistan for international connectivity of voice/data traffic and provision of seamless GSM coverage along KKH for the proposed Gawadar - Kashighar Economic Corridor in Gilgit Baltistan.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan

 

[shahbaz baig]

Suggestion hai... Baki it's up to you..

The owner of axect can definally help pakistan in IT industry.. He has sophisticated network all around the world.. Which can bring thousands of jobs within pakistan and millions to billions revenue as well. He can also promote the potential of pakistani IT specialist specially in white hat and securities..
World desperately need white hat and IT securities services. And we have strong potential to make an organization regarding this specific IT securities sector and can start our services world wide.

 

[Tom M]

Suggestion hai... Baki it's up to you..

The owner of axect can definally help pakistan in IT industry.. He has sophisticated network all around the world.. Which can bring thousands of jobs within pakistan and millions to billions revenue as well. He can also promote the potential of pakostani IT specialist specially in white hat and securities..
World desperately need white hat and IT securities services. And we have strong potential to make an organization regarding this specific IT securities sector and can start our services world wide.

LOL. I liked your sarcasm.

 

[shahbaz baig]

LOL. I liked your sarcasm.

قومی سلامتی کے مشیر ناصر خان جنجوعہ نے کہا ہے کہ پاکستان نے سائبر سکیورٹی کے مسئلے سے نمٹنے کے لئے جامع اقدامات کئے ہیں۔ وہ 29 مارچ کواسلام آباد میں پاکستان انفارمیشن سکیورٹی ایسوسی ایشن کے زیر اہتمام سائبر سکیور پاکستان ویژن 2025 کے موضوع پر کانفرنس سے خطاب کررہے تھ

Mai tuo bs 100 qadam Aagay jany ka mashwara diya hai..

 

[Clutch]

LOL. I liked your sarcasm.

Lol... I like your jealousy... Here use this...

 

[Tom M]

Lol... I like your jealousy... Here use this...

Why, because we are not able to build a software company who's main source of revenue is selling fake degree certificates ???? Indeed we should be jealous. LOL

قومی سلامتی کے مشیر ناصر خان جنجوعہ نے کہا ہے کہ پاکستان نے سائبر سکیورٹی کے مسئلے سے نمٹنے کے لئے جامع اقدامات کئے ہیں۔ وہ 29 مارچ کواسلام آباد میں پاکستان انفارمیشن سکیورٹی ایسوسی ایشن کے زیر اہتمام سائبر سکیور پاکستان ویژن 2025 کے موضوع پر کانفرنس سے خطاب کررہے تھ

Mai tuo bs 100 qadam Aagay jany ka mashwara diya hai..

Sorry, I don't understand a word written above. Can't even distinguish whether it's Urdu or Arabic.

 

[Clutch]

Why, because we are not able to build a software company who's main source of revenue is selling fake degree certificates ???? Indeed we should be jealous. LOL



Sorry, I don't understand a word written above. Can't even distinguish whether it's Urdu or Arabic.

Because yovknowbwe are the Descendents of Indus Civilization and the Grand Moghals...

Getting Ready to enslave the south for another 1,000 years!

 

[Tom M]

Because yovknowbwe are the Descendents of Indus Civilization and the Grand Moghals...

Getting Ready to enslave the south for another 1,000 years!

LOL, are you for real mate ????

FYI, Mughal's themselves were the leftovers of humiliation, rape and murder of ethnic Tribes of the region that comprises present day Afghanistan by Great Mongols, hence the name. Still feeling proud to be called their decedents ??? Great

Please try to repay your national Debit/EMI next month before planning to enslave others.

 

[Clutch]

LOL, are you for real mate ????

FYI, Mughal's themselves were the leftovers of humiliation, rape and murder of ethnic Tribes of the region that comprises present day Afghanistan by Great Mongols, hence the name. Still feeling proud to be called their decedents ??? Great

Please try to repay your national Debit/EMI next month before planning to enslave others.

I sense another case of ....

Coming.

 

[Tom M]

I sense another case of ....

Coming.

Indeed we do because of your flourishing IT industrial base.

 

[Clutch]

Indeed we do because of your flourishing IT industrial base.

Hindutvaism is causing you heartburn seeing Pakistan rise... That's why u r here on pdf and we r not there on IDF

 

[Tom M]

Hindutvaism is causing you heartburn seeing Pakistan rise... That's why u r here on pdf and we r not there on IDF

I'm everywhere, you ain't have a clue kid. Moreover, I haven't seen too stupid guy's like few of your countrymen anywhere in the world who believe that every Indian is a Hindu. Dumb people. LOL

 

[Clutch]

I'm everywhere, you ain't have a clue kid. Moreover, I haven't seen too stupid guy's like few of your countrymen anywhere in the world who believe that every Indian is a Hindu. Dumb people. LOL

Hindutvaism is rampant in the failing state of India.

Pakistan’s IT industry set to double by 2020: Ignite CEO

Highlights giant strides country has made; says big business groups have to step forward
By USMAN HANIF
Dec.18,2017
KARACHI: The country’s IT industry is set to double by 2020, said the CEO of Pakistan’s national technology fund, increasing from the current worth of $3.5 billion to $7 billion.

Hussain, who leads Ignite, formerly known as the National ICT R&D Fund, said funding for start-ups will increase six-fold as the trend for entrepreneurship picks up in the country.

“Pakistani start-ups currently only get $50 million in annual funding, but this is expected to reach $300 million per year,” said Yusuf Hussain in an interview with The Express Tribune.

Is Pakistan really snatching IT jobs from India?

He gave details on Pakistan’s exports that are divided into four groups. Pakistan’s software exports are currently worth $700 million, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). However, the country’s freelancers also earn another $1.2 billion in exports, an amount not recorded by the central bank as they are not registered.

Moreover, another $600 million in exports are from those companies that do not bring their revenues to Pakistan, while the hardware and software industry in Pakistan is worth around $1 billion, said Hussain as he broke down numbers of the $3.5-billion IT industry.

Regional comparison

Pakistan is trying to make its place in the global setup. Perhaps, this is the reason why the country’s freelancers offer rates 30% to 50% less than the ones offered in India.

According to NASSCOM, India’s IT market size is $150 billion while Pakistan’s is just $3.5 billion.

While India’s population is seven times higher, their investment in startups ratio is also 30 times greater.

The ratio of the size of the economy is 1:10 while the market size of startups is 1:100. This can be improved as Pakistan’s startups market can grow up to 5 times, Hussain said.

According to World Bank, an average freelancer in the world earns about $4,000 per year.

“We can take our industry to $4 billion per year through trainings. Our organisation’s goal is to train 1 million young people to work in the IT sector.”

Pakistan’s growth in the sector has been held back by security issues since terrorism hits IT exports more negatively than it does other tangible exports. Companies, which outsource services, have to keep relations for longer term and security concerns tend to play on their minds.

“They don’t like taking risks – especially when they’re associated with security concerns.”

Besides security, education and electricity remain important in attracting IT-related jobs.

While the Ministry of IT has made an Export Policy Map that includes technology parks, digital skills training and other incentives, youth of the country has to take an initiative, said Hussain.

The next wave of jobs will be in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and it will need people in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, The Internet of Things (IOT), 3D printing and autonomous vehicles.

Ministry aims to take IT exports to $10b

People fear that automation and artificial intelligence will eat up human jobs, but Hussain says there will be new jobs but they will require more creativeness and innovation.

About 10,000 IT graduates enter Pakistan’s job market each year, which already comprises around 150,000 professionals and a similar number of freelancers.

Meanwhile, education at formal institutions has more to do with conceptual learning and rote learning, said Hussain, adding that students do not graduate with the necessary skillset to fit into the industry.

“Such a student takes at least one year to fit into the industry, so we need to promote a learning-by-doing environment,” said Hussain who has mentored 150 startups.

Analysis of situation in Pakistan

The Global Competitiveness Index and Ease of Doing Business Index of Pakistan show that the country has some giant strides to make.

India has 6 big IT companies and every company has at least a $10-billion revenue a year.

Google, IBM and Microsoft have their local office in India, promoting the country’s industry through research and development.

On the other hand, Pakistan has not seen business tycoons venture into the IT industry.

Pakistani businessmen love to invest in real estate and gold, said Hussain.

“But recently, big business groups are stepping ahead to promote startups in Pakistan and this is a good sign for Pakistan’s IT industry,” he said.

The writer is a staff correspondent



Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2017.

 

[Tom M]

Hindutvaism is rampant in the failing state of India.

Pakistan’s IT industry set to double by 2020: Ignite CEO

Highlights giant strides country has made; says big business groups have to step forward
By USMAN HANIF
Dec.18,2017
KARACHI: The country’s IT industry is set to double by 2020, said the CEO of Pakistan’s national technology fund, increasing from the current worth of $3.5 billion to $7 billion.

Hussain, who leads Ignite, formerly known as the National ICT R&D Fund, said funding for start-ups will increase six-fold as the trend for entrepreneurship picks up in the country.

“Pakistani start-ups currently only get $50 million in annual funding, but this is expected to reach $300 million per year,” said Yusuf Hussain in an interview with The Express Tribune.

Is Pakistan really snatching IT jobs from India?

He gave details on Pakistan’s exports that are divided into four groups. Pakistan’s software exports are currently worth $700 million, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). However, the country’s freelancers also earn another $1.2 billion in exports, an amount not recorded by the central bank as they are not registered.

Moreover, another $600 million in exports are from those companies that do not bring their revenues to Pakistan, while the hardware and software industry in Pakistan is worth around $1 billion, said Hussain as he broke down numbers of the $3.5-billion IT industry.

Regional comparison

Pakistan is trying to make its place in the global setup. Perhaps, this is the reason why the country’s freelancers offer rates 30% to 50% less than the ones offered in India.

According to NASSCOM, India’s IT market size is $150 billion while Pakistan’s is just $3.5 billion.

While India’s population is seven times higher, their investment in startups ratio is also 30 times greater.

The ratio of the size of the economy is 1:10 while the market size of startups is 1:100. This can be improved as Pakistan’s startups market can grow up to 5 times, Hussain said.

According to World Bank, an average freelancer in the world earns about $4,000 per year.

“We can take our industry to $4 billion per year through trainings. Our organisation’s goal is to train 1 million young people to work in the IT sector.”

Pakistan’s growth in the sector has been held back by security issues since terrorism hits IT exports more negatively than it does other tangible exports. Companies, which outsource services, have to keep relations for longer term and security concerns tend to play on their minds.

“They don’t like taking risks – especially when they’re associated with security concerns.”

Besides security, education and electricity remain important in attracting IT-related jobs.

While the Ministry of IT has made an Export Policy Map that includes technology parks, digital skills training and other incentives, youth of the country has to take an initiative, said Hussain.

The next wave of jobs will be in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and it will need people in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, The Internet of Things (IOT), 3D printing and autonomous vehicles.

Ministry aims to take IT exports to $10b

People fear that automation and artificial intelligence will eat up human jobs, but Hussain says there will be new jobs but they will require more creativeness and innovation.

About 10,000 IT graduates enter Pakistan’s job market each year, which already comprises around 150,000 professionals and a similar number of freelancers.

Meanwhile, education at formal institutions has more to do with conceptual learning and rote learning, said Hussain, adding that students do not graduate with the necessary skillset to fit into the industry.

“Such a student takes at least one year to fit into the industry, so we need to promote a learning-by-doing environment,” said Hussain who has mentored 150 startups.

Analysis of situation in Pakistan

The Global Competitiveness Index and Ease of Doing Business Index of Pakistan show that the country has some giant strides to make.

India has 6 big IT companies and every company has at least a $10-billion revenue a year.

Google, IBM and Microsoft have their local office in India, promoting the country’s industry through research and development.

On the other hand, Pakistan has not seen business tycoons venture into the IT industry.

Pakistani businessmen love to invest in real estate and gold, said Hussain.

“But recently, big business groups are stepping ahead to promote startups in Pakistan and this is a good sign for Pakistan’s IT industry,” he said.

The writer is a staff correspondent



Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2017.

I know, I know. "Set To" ain't it ?? And you think your this hope is the reason for us to be envious about you, huh ??? Well strange logic.

 

[Clutch]

I know, I know. "Set To" ain't it ?? And you think your this hope is the reason for us to be envious about you, huh ??? Well strange logic.

Pakistan IT industry exports reaches $3.5 billion with 100% growth

7 Dec, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s IT industry has demonstrated positive growth trends for the last fourteen years with 100% growth in export earnings as total annual revenue of Pakistan’s IT Industry is nearing $3.5 billion.

Managing Director Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) Iftikhar Shah told APP that as a result of tax exemption and incentives, Pakistan’s IT exports have grown to an estimated $2.9 billion which includes Pakistani freelancers estimated to be earning more than $300 million annually.

• BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY

Is Pakistan really snatching IT jobs from India?

Recently, US-based company shifted low-end jobs from India to Pakistan
By USMAN HANIF
Dec.11,2017
KARACHI: An Indian magazine recently published an article that said Pakistan was now gradually taking over low-end information technology (IT) jobs from India.

This was news that Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, said to be one of the brightest minds in the ruling party, could cheer about as he tweeted the story, claiming it was an international recognition of Pakistan’s IT policies.

According to Indian magazine Outlook India, on November 1, a US-based IT company shifted its 125 remote jobs from Indian city Noida to Islamabad.

Furthermore, India has been losing jobs for about two years to Bangladesh, the Philippines and Malaysia as these countries have been snatching employment by offering cheaper workers and now, Pakistan techies have also started grabbing their share of the pie.

Pakistan’s IT sector is growing exponentially and its size touched $3 billion. It doubled in the past four years and experts expect it to grow a further 100% in the next two to four years.

Pakistan is a budding IT industry when compared with that of India. Indian IT industry’s size is 51 times bigger than that of Pakistan and is worth $154 billion including $38 billion in domestic sales and $117 billion in exports.

While Pakistan’s IT industry is now growing faster than the Indian industry, it is expected to narrow the gap somewhat. Pakistan’s IT sector is growing by 20% per year as opposed to Indian industry’s growth of only 7-8%.

Representing Pakistan: Four firms to participate in IT fair

Governments of India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Malaysia support their IT industries and provide infrastructure and incentives like technology parks, general sales tax rebate, subsidised internet, etc so that the sector could grow and earn foreign exchange.

The jobs that have been shifted to Pakistan from India are low-end ones which experts say does not mean that the neighbour will be at a disadvantage.

“Jobs are not finite in this world and if we take some of these it is not necessary others will lose,” commented Shehryar Hydri, General Secretary of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).

India is the biggest market of data operators and business process outsourcing (BPO) call centres. Experts suggest Pakistan does not need to emulate the Indian story as the need of the hour is different.

The next wave of jobs would be in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which would need people in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, The Internet of Things, 3D printing and autonomous vehicles, Hydri said.

“India is also looking for these jobs — that’s why it is losing low-end or cheaper jobs.”

Pakistan has the potential to capitalise on the opportunity. The New York Times in 2015 carried an article calling Pakistan “the next software hub”. In the same year, upwork.com, a freelance job providing portal with 26 million registered users, reported that Pakistanis accounted for the fifth largest number of software freelancers.

About 10,000 IT graduates enter annually in the job market of Pakistan which has around 150,000 mainstream techies and 150,000 to 200,000 freelancers who have a better record in the international IT market. The number will double if non-tech-savvy freelancers are taken into account.

5 reasons why She Loves Tech will change Pakistani lives

“Pakistan’s freelancers have gained better credibility than those in any other country in South Asia,” remarked Nouman Younus, who has been working as a freelancer for the past five years.

“Pakistani freelancers are a bit expensive, but they complete the job as per agreements with their clients, so they have earned a good name,” he said.

Pakistan is also getting foreign investment in the IT sector. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is going to invest $400 million in Pakistan while China Telecom Global (CTG) is planning to upgrade Pakistan’s optical fibre network in partnership with Pakistan Telecommunication Company, which will greatly help in the growth of IT sector in the country.

Ironically, Pakistan’s government does not provide needed support for its technology sector, restricting its rapid growth.

“The future belongs to the tech sector and the government needs to support IT like it has done with textile,” said Hydri.

“Like the overall economy, Pakistan’s IT industry is also showing positive signs, but political instability can undermine its growth since investors don’t feel safe investing in countries where political turmoil prevails.”

The writer is a staff correspondent

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2017.


For all the rapist hindutva ...