Total capital imported into Nigeria decreased by 77.88 percent from $5.85 billion to $1.29 billion between first quarter and second quarter of 2020.1 A disaggregation of the data shows that Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) declined by 30.65 percent to $148.59 million, portfolio investment plummeted by 91.06 percent to $385.32m while other investments also decreased by 42.8 percent to $761.03m in the review period. The United Kingdom, South Africa and United Arab Emirate are the top sources of capital investment in Nigeria. By sectors, shares (35.9 percent), finance (23.9 percent) and banking (10.8 percent) accounted for the most capital inflow into the country. The decline was as a result of the uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic as investors seek safer assets. Considering that the decline in capital is occurring in a context of low oil prices, foreign exchange inflows will be significantly impaired with implications on the exchange rate. While the government has minimal influence over the trends in capital inflow, alternative sources of generating foreign exchange earnings should be developed in order to induce stability into the foreign exchange market.
September 16, 2020
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 35)
Related
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 27)
The
Naira strengthened against the dollar in the review week. Specifically, the
Naira appreciated by 2.7 percent to N355/$ (parallel market rate) on June 17, 2016,
following the release of the flexible FOREX policy guidelines by the CBN on
June 15, 2016. The new policy effectively adopts a single market structure
hosted at the autonomous/inter-bank market. The inter-bank trading scheduled to
commence on June 20, 2016 will be market-determined, officially eliminating the
N197/$ peg. To ensure foreign exchange liquidity, primary market dealers have
been introduced while the CBN will participate in the market through periodic interventions.
Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 8)
Recent
data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that total capital
importation in 2015 fell steeply by 53.5 per cent from $20,750.76 million in
2014 to $9,643.01 million in 20152. This decline was largely driven
by a substantial drop in portfolio investment (the largest component of Capital
Inflows), which fell by 59.74 percent. The exclusion of Nigeria from the JP Morgan
EM Bond index, the slump in crude oil prices, the decision of the US Federal
Reserve to raise interest rates and the capital control measures imposed by the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are the notable drivers of the reduced inflow of
capital. Going forward, improving the business environment, especially easing
foreign exchange controls, would determine the extent to which the economy can
attract increased capital inflows.