Nigeria’s foreign capital imports drops by 9% in Q2, 2023

In the second quarter of 2023, Nigeria’s foreign capital importation dropped by 9.04% when compared to the preceding quarter (first three months of 2023) according to the foreign capital report from the National Bureau of Statistics.

When compared on a year-on-year basis, the country’s foreign capital declined by 32.90% from $1.53bn in the second quarter of 2022 to $1.03bn in Q2, 2023.

Investment category and sectors

On investments, accounting and finance raked the most capital imports recording 81.28% ($837.34 million) of all capital imports.

It was followed by Portfolio Investment with 10.37% (US$106.85 million) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with 8.35% (US$86.03 million).

For the period under review, the production sector saw the most significant influx of capital, amounting to US$605.04 million, which accounted for 58.73% of the total capital imports.

Following closely was the banking sector, registering at US$194.58 million (18.89%), with shares trailing behind at US$68.63 million (6.66%).

Ranking by states

Lagos state continued its dominance in the capital importation ranking raking in US$778.06 million representing 75.52% of total capital imports.

It was followed by Abuja with S$194.58 million (18.89%). Both places accounted for 93.3% of total capital imports in the country. The other 35 states raked in just $68.63 million (6.66%) of foreign capital.

Origin of foreign capital

In terms of origin of foreign capital, the United States contributed the most bringing in US$271.92 million, constituting 26.39% of the total, followed by Singapore and the Republic of South Africa, which recorded US$177.44 million (17.22%) and US$136.95 million (13.29%), respectively.

Capital imports by banks

In the second quarter of 2023, First Bank of Nigeria Limited attracted the most substantial capital inflow into Nigeria, amounting to US$323.13 million, representing 18.23% of the total.

Following closely were Citibank Nigeria Limited, which received US$187.77 million (12.23%), and Rand Merchant Bank with US$126.03 million (6.47%).