Special Technology Zone

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PM Imran Khan to inaugurate Lahore Technopolis Special Technology Zone today in Lahore.

 

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Tech industry to help boost exports, overcome unemployment: PM

During COVID-19, all other businesses faced a slump but the profits of tech companies multiplied, says PM Imran Khan

APP
December 23, 2021


LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the constant cycle of foreign exchange depletion and pressure on rupee following a spurt in economic growth can only end if exports are ramped up — and for that, technology is of paramount importance.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of Lahore Technopolis, a special technology zone, the premier said: "As soon as the economy witnesses a bit of growth, we experience a depletion in dollar reserves used for imports of machinery (to bring about the growth), and that creates a bottleneck in our current account."

"Pressure builds up on the rupee and our reserves, and then we are compelled to [repeatedly] approach the International Monetary Fund," he said.

The prime minister said that if incentivised and facilitated, the technology industry could help overcome the current account deficit of the country by boosting exports as well as addressing the issue of unemployment.
Speaking of the inaugurated project, he said it would help provide incentives to the tech industry and bring ease for the businessmen, in accordance with the government’s vision.

Special technology zones being developed all across the country would be home to science and technology parks, manufacturing units, research and development centers of global tech companies and software houses, he said.

The project will also feature, universities, incubators, accelerators and other ecosystem players.
Before Lahore, Islamabad Technopolis was also announced earlier this year.

The prime minister lauded Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar and other relevant ministers for allocating 800 acres of land for the purpose, which he said was the “future of the world”.

Exemplifying his point citing Google and other tech giants, the prime minister said that during COVID-19, all other businesses faced a slump but the profits of tech companies multiplied.

He said unfortunately, Pakistan lagged behind in the sector despite having ideal conditions including a huge population of the young.

PM Imran Khan said over the past 15-20 years, Indian tech exports boomed to $150 billion while Pakistan could reach only $2 billion.

Citing the Chinese model of development, the prime minister said the country achieved remarkable progress and steered 700 million people out of poverty by eliminating corruption, jailing over 450 ministerial-level people, as well as by enhancing exports.

The prime minister called for redirecting the focus of the government as well as the population towards enhancing exports and wealth creation.

He said taking advantage of its 12 climatic zones, the country could reduce its import bill of commodities like edible oil through indigenous production of palm oil.


Overseas Pakistanis 'biggest asset'

Calling them the biggest asset, the prime minister also emphasised the involvement of the overseas Pakistanis towards investment and wealth creation in Pakistan.

He said China and India also first attracted their own firms operating abroad to invest at home.

He said the Pakistani individuals as well as the firms operating abroad, including in the Silicon Valley, were interested to invest in Pakistan which necessitated incentives and ease of doing business.

'Join the tech race'

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the objective behind establishing the Technopolis projects in Lahore, Islamabad and KP was to make Pakistan join the tech race and provide employment to the people.

MoU for $300m in investment, 10-year tax exemption

Earlier, the prime minister also distributed licenses among the companies which would be operating in the Technopolis.

The event also marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for an investment of $300 million for the establishment of another three technology zones in different parts of the country.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said Lahore had been selected for the Technopolis considering the existence of universities and other tech institutes as well as companies in the city.

He said the project would help carry out technology-based research and studies.

In order to attract investment to Technopolis, the government has given a 10-year tax exemption to companies operating there, he added.

The chief minister said that companies from various countries like US, Canada, China and Australia had expressed interest in investing there.

 

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Prime Minister Imran Khan to launch Special Technology Zones in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province tomorrow.

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The launch of Special Tech Zones (STZs) in KP will help Pakistan transform its human capital into a futuristic high-end workforce.

 

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https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=308053434566233

 

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ISLAMABAD: The government has directed power Distribution Companies (Discos) and developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to work out operational modalities to supply electricity to industrial units within the Zones under CPEC as there is no bar on providing electricity.

These recommendations/ directions were issued in a recent meeting held in Board of Investment (BoI) under the chairmanship of the Additional Secretary.

Official documents available with Business Recorder reveal that BoI noted that in consequence of the meeting held on July 1, 2022, under the chair of Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, on the matter of provision of utilities inside the SEZs, to resolve the legal contention “whether the utility companies can provide connections directly to the zone enterprise or should the developer be made responsible for inside provision/ distribution of gas to the zone enterprises and collection of bills”, a meeting was held to deliberate on the matter and arrive at a workable solution.

 

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Development of Special Technology Zones​

Marium Akhtar
November 8, 2023

Software development and IT-enabled services (ITeS) for data centres, technical service/call centres, and telecom services make up the majority of the Pakistani ICT industry. After India, Bangladesh, and the US, Pakistan is currently the fourth largest country for freelancers, with game software development being the most popular service.

The majority of Pakistan’s ICT industry is export-focused. Over 19,000 ICT businesses are registered with the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB). More than 170 countries are receiving services from Pakistan’s IT and ITEnabled Services (ITeS) sectors.

The US is the largest market, accounting for 54.50 percent of Pakistan’s IT exports, followed by the UK with 7.90 percent, the UAE with 6.90 percent, Ireland with 6.70 percent, and Singapore with 4.90 percent.

According to PSEB, exports of telecommunication, computer, and information services was recorded at 2.6 billion dollar during FY 2021-22, which had risen from previous figure of dollar 2.1 billion during FY 2020-21.

However, according to Finance Division’s Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23, this figure stood at dollar 1.94 billion during FY2022-23 (Jul-Mar) which showed a decline year on year. The necessity of the ICT sector in generating Pakistan’s required foreign exchange earnings has been demonstrated in recent years.

Comparing the IT industry’s trade surplus to that of the rest of the services sector with exports to 170 countries, Pakistan’s IT industry is the largest net services exporter. This industry can help the country break free from the Balance of Payments (BoP) crises, provided a conducive, convenient and efficient ecosystem is in place at the earliest.

The formation of STZs is part of the government’s larger objective of transforming the country into a knowledge-based economy and increasing its worldwide competitiveness in the technology sector.

STZs are designated locations in Pakistan that aim to encourage and support technology-based industries and innovation.

For smooth operationalization of the STZs, a special authority called the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), which derived its mandate from an act of parliament, namely the Special Technology Zones Authority Act 2021, was formed by government of Pakistan. There are currently 115 clusters based on this concept of STZs in the US, 169 in China, 63 in the UK, 23 in Iran, 7 in India, 5 in Malaysia, and 3 in Egypt.

There are currently 9 announced technology zones in Pakistan in all provinces including the Islamabad Technopolis, which are envisioned to unlock new technology sectors beyond IT/ITeS, such as AgriTech, Aerospace and Defence, Gaming, Deep Tech, Maritime Tech, Advanced Engineering, AI and Machine Learning.

Around 400 companies are currently registered in the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), out of which, 63 percent are Pakistani, while the rest belong to China, the US, Turkey and other countries. Recently, with focus on IT industry, it has become a prioritized domain at federal and provincial levels.

However, there are few issues being faced by local and international companies to do business in Pakistan.

These include complex official processes, lack of inter departmental coordination and lengthy approval procedures causing investor trust deficit. Presently, the public sector entities are operating in scattered bodies catering for science, technology, engineering and innovation.

While a “single window” operation under Pakistan Customs is on its way to foster a business-friendly environment across the borders, tech industry should also be linked to this mode of operation for ease for investors and start-ups to operate in Pakistan.

The actualization of the ‘Digital One Window’ program by STZA, scheduled for October 2023, will reduce the processing time for applications, aligning them with global best practices, if implemented in true letter and spirit.

The recent efforts of government to speed up the STZA collaboration with the relevant departments in order to facilitate technology industry growth is also encouraging.

Establishment of National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) is a step towards gaining momentum in this regard. Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with both international and domestic partners have been signed by STZA both on the national and international levels.

These partnerships span a wide spectrum of ecosystem requirements, encompassing regulatory compliance, policy formulation, infrastructure development, venture capital investment, cashless transaction zones, advancements in web 3.0 technologies, semiconductor innovation, and the facilitation of high-level executive training and education programs for technology leaders in Pakistan.

In short, Pakistan’s technology sector endeavours spearheaded by STZA should be pursued vigorously and shielded from political or economic uncertainties, given their potential to drive the country’s economic development through the creation of a new export-oriented engine.

While there have been commendable developments in recent months, there remains room for enhancing the efficiency of policies and practices.

To achieve this, learning and drawing insights from well-established tech zones in countries like China and US having tech exports worth 67.1 billion and 33.6 billion till 2023 July respectively and Iran, having national digital economy worth 45bn dollar till March 2021 is imperative.