The total inflow of foreign capital to Nigeria plunged 31.6% y/y to $2.67bn in the first quarter, following a 3.9% y/y decline in the preceding quarter, reflecting high levels of uncertainty due to a postponed election and depressed oil price, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. On a quarterly comparison basis, Q4’s capital importation shrank 40.6% after a 31.2% drop in Q4.
Portfolio investment accounted for the biggest part of the total foreign capital inflow in Q1 with a 73.5% share, sharply up from 44.5% in Q4. It fell 7.1% q/q and 35.2% y/y to $1.86bn.
Next, ‘other’ investments reached $416.3bn in Q1, down 76% q/q and 23.6% y/y. Their share from the total declined to 15.6% from 38.4% in Q4.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) shrank 48.7% q/q and 19.6% y/y to $394.6mn in Q1. Its share from the total fell to 14.8% from 17.1% in Q4.
With a relatively small 9.6% quarterly drop, the UK remained the biggest investor in Nigeria, contributing $1.76bn, or 65.9%, of the total foreign capital inflow in Q1 (43.2% in Q4). It was followed by the US, which provided $348.3mn (13% of the total), down 67.6% q/q.
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