SIFC To Help Develop Country: Caretaker Federal Minister For Information Technology And Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif

Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif has said that the presence of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is leading to increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) and setting the pace of the country’s development

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2024) Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif has said that the presence of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is leading to increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) and setting the pace of the country’s development.

He said this during his visit to Daftarkhwan where the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) Townhall held an interactive session on Saturday.

He said: “We have achieved 13 out of 15 important targets for the promotion of the IT & Telecom sector in a short period of 5 to 6 months in the caretaker set-up."

The forum of SIFC would prove to be a great support for the upcoming elected government in the process of building and developing the country, and the elected government would also reap the benefits of the measures taken during the caretaker period, he added.

Umar Saif said to facilitate IT exporters and boost exports of IT and IT-enabled services, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has increased the permissible retention limit from 35% to 50% of their export proceeds in the Exporters’ Specialized Foreign Currency Accounts (ESFCAs).

He said, "We worked with the SIFC and the State Bank to make a significant policy intervention, allowing IT companies to keep 50% of their export revenue in dollars in an account in Pakistan and make their international expenses without any restrictions from this amount.”

He said that with this decision, allowing the retention of 50 percent in dollars, the country’s IT exports had increased by almost 32 percent in the last 60 days.

Dr Umar Saif highlighted that ICT export remittances had increased by US$ 64 million (8.99%) to US$ 1.455 billion during July to December 2023 of FY2023-24, compared to US$ 1.335 billion reported for the same period last year.

In December 2023, he mentioned that ICT services export remittances surged to US$ 303 million, marking a remarkable increase of 22.67% compared to US$ 247 million in December 2022.

Compared to the previous month of November 2023, ICT services export remittances increased by US$ 44 million in December 2023, representing a month-to-month increase of 16.99%, he added.

Dr Umar Saif highlighted that the establishment of the Telecom Tribunal fulfills a longstanding demand of the telecom sector and added that

this specialized approach would lead to faster and more efficient resolution of disputes, contributing to the overall advancement of the telecom industry.

He said, “We are confident that with the presence of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the upcoming government will also be able to make timely decisions for the country’s development and public interests because we must not compromise on our economic stability and public interests. We need to avoid departmental obstacles. Instead of unnecessary delay tactics, quick and effective decisions must be taken in the interest of the country and the nation. For this purpose, SIFC is the most effective forum.”

He said “The effective implementation of the Right of Way Policy, the Special Investment Council has removed all departmental hurdles, and all decisions in the interest of the country and the nation have been approved without delay.”

He mentioned that the ministry is concurrently establishing a research and development fund to support mobile phone manufacturing companies and facilitate the growth of the mobile phone manufacturing sector.

He expressed the government’s goal to reduce mobile phone imports by promoting the manufacturing of affordable and high-quality mobile phones within Pakistan.

Dr Umar Saif said that the first standardized quality test for the 75,000 information technology graduates would be conducted soon.

He highlighted significant decisions made to revamp IT education in collaboration with various entities, including HEC, the National Computing Accreditation Council, the Examination Testing Council, the Pakistan Software Export Board, and the Pakistan Software Houses Association.

He further said that students who successfully pass the test would be offered job opportunities through the Industry Placement Program. Funds would be allocated to support special industry courses in universities, aimed at preparing students for current industry trends and needs, he maintained.

He said that the National Computing Accreditation Council would consider the pass rate of students to determine a university’s rating and the permissible enrollment of IT students.

Emphasizing the importance of aligning educational institutions with industry requirements, he stressed the need for facilitating industry-specific training to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical industry needs.

He said that freelancers would now receive their payments through PayPal, addressing a longstanding demand. The minister clarified, “While PayPal itself is not coming to Pakistan, an agreement has been reached where remittances would be channeled through PayPal via a third party.”

“Under the newly devised program, freelancers would not need to open a PayPal account. Instead, individuals outside the country will make payments from their PayPal accounts, and the funds will be promptly deposited into the freelancers’ accounts,” the minister said.

He said that under the nation’s first space policy approved by the federal cabinet, international companies would be allowed to provide communication services through low-orbit communication satellites.

Dr Saif said that satellite communication technology was advancing rapidly, and many private companies in the world wanted to provide communication services through low-orbit satellites.

“Satellites used to be geostationary, far away from the land. They are useful for broadcasting TV signals but communicating is difficult because there is latency,” he said.

Dr Saif said that communication services and internet services could be offered through low-orbit satellites, which were relatively closer. He said that there had been a lot of development in this regard in the private sector.

“So now it has become possible for communication services in Pakistan to be provided through satellites and the private sector has this technology,” he said.

He expressed confidence that 5G services in the country would be launched by July-August current year, and 300MHz spectrum would be offered for auction.

He said that before the launch of 5G services, the optic fiber network had to be enhanced. Currently, only 6,000 mobile towers relate to optic fiber cables (OFC) of around 56,000 towers across the country.

Dr Umar Saif said that the government launched a project to establish 10,000 e-Rozgar centers across the country that would be equipped with the latest facilities for freelancers and startups.

The minister said that the government had allocated Rs 2 billion for the Pakistan Startup Fund to accelerate venture capital investment in the country.

He said the Fund would provide financial assistance to the startups, with each receiving 30% support, while venture capitalists would contribute the remaining 70% of the capital.

The minister expressed confidence that the Startup Fund would play a key role in Pakistan’s economic development and expressed the commitment of the Ministry of Information Technology to providing.

PASHA Chairman Muhammad Zohaib Khan and representative from IT sector attended the event.