Data from the National Bureau of Statistics reveals that Capital Importation into the country was about $12.2 billion in 2017; the highest since 2014 where over $20 billion was imported.
Capital Importation which represents all the foreign direct and portfolio investment into the country, typically passes through commercial banks before it reaches its final destination. Data from the NBS reveals that about 78% of the total capital imported into the country came through 5 banks.
In fact one bank, Stanbic IBTC, accounted for 36% of the total Capital Imported into the country with about $4.39 billion. About $2.7 billion of the funds came in the 3rd quarter alone.
See chart below;
[visualizer id=\”121015\”]
What does this imply?
This suggests that the banks above are the preferred local accounts used by foreign investors to operate in Nigeria. For example, Standard Chartered Bank and Citi Bank are often preferred by Western Investors, while Stanbic IBTC is the preferred bank for investors from South Africa.
The likes of Access Bank, Coronation who made the list, attracted funding from their bonds and equity sales.
