Investment inflow into Nigeria tumbles to $1.25bn in Q3

Nigeria attracted less foreign investment in the third quarter of this year compared to Q2, with the services as well as oil and gas sectors receiving zero capital.

The amount of capital imported into the country fell to $1.25 billion from $2.6 billion in the previous quarter, according to new data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

Portfolio investment ranked top with $899.31 million, accounting for 71.79%, followed by other investments with $249.53 million, representing 19.92%. Foreign direct investment stood at $103.82 million.

The banking sector recorded the highest inflow with $579.48 million, representing 46.26% of total capital imported in Q3, followed by the financing sector, valued at $294.55 million (23.51%), and production/manufacturing sector with $189.22 million (15.11%).

The NBS data shows that $502.6 million, or 40.12% of the imported capital, originated from the United Kingdom. This was followed by the Republic of South Africa with $185.03 million (14.77%) and the United States with $163.86 million (13.08%).

“Out of the five states that recorded capital importation during the quarter, Lagos state remained the top destination with $650.41 million, accounting for 51.92% of the total capital imported. Abuja followed with $600.02 million (47.90%), and Kaduna state with $1.95 million (0.16%). Others were Enugu and Ekiti states with $184,229 and $96,600 respectively,” it said.

Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited received the highest capital of $385.62 million (30.78%), followed by Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc with $382.08 million (30.50%) and Citibank Nigeria Limited with $192.88 (15.40%).