Nigeria attracted a sum of $222.3 million in portfolio investments into the equity market in the first quarter of 2023.
This represents a 4,472% rise from the immediate past quarter, the 4th quarter of 2022.
This data is coming from the National Bureau of Statistics Capital Importation report for the first quarter of the year.
FPI Equity Surge: In the whole of 2022 Nigeria only attracted $56 million in foreign portfolio investments (FPI) in equity as investors stayed out of the country due to its forex policies.
- Thus by the first quarter of this year, inflow into FPI equities has surpassed what was achieved in the whole of 2023
- However, the successful 2023 elections appear to have swayed investors as they bid a return into the equities market.
- On the flip side, FPI in equities was $639.7 million or $656 million in the first quarter of 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Other FPI: Meanwhile, capital importation into bonds and money market instruments also doubled to $426 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $280 million reported in the 4th quarter of the year.
- However, FPI inflows into bonds, and the money market was $925 million in the first quarter of 2022.
- In fact, FPI into the money market fell 79.5% YoY in the first quarter of 2023 suggesting investors saw yields as unattractive.
- Yields in the money market instruments currently trade at below inflation rate as investors continue to grapple with negative real returns.
Capital Importation: Meanwhile, Nigeria’s total capital inflow for the first quarter of 2023 dropped by 28% according to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics.
- Capital inflow for the first three months of the year stood at $1.13 billion- a drop of $441 million when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022.
- Capital importation for the first quarter of 2022 was $1.5 billion.
- When compared to the preceding quarter, that is Q4 of 2022, the capital inflow rose by  6.78% from $1.06 billion. Â
FDI continues to Fall: Nigeria was only able to attract just $47.6 million in the first quarter of the year.
- However, this was a 43% drop from the $84.2 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2022.
- Capital Importation into FDI was just $468 million in the whole of 2022 as foreign investor interest in the country continues its drop.
Meanwhile, total capital importation in 2022 is $5.3 billion compared to $6.7 billion in 2021. Capital importation has also continued its fall from as high as $23.9 billion in 2019.
