Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 11)

Foreign capital imported to Nigeria declined by 32% from US$5.6 billion to US$3.8 billion between Q3 and Q4 2019, indicating a decline for the third consecutive quarter1. The decline during the period was driven by a fall in two components of foreign capital imports as portfolio investment and other investment declined by 37.7% and 30.5% respectively, while foreign direct investment increased by 24.5%. In 2019, the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa emerged as the top-three countries importing the highest capital while Lagos and Abuja remain the top destinations within the country. By sector, banking (31.92%), financing (26.18%) and shares (22.24%) emerge as the top sectors. Despite the decline in capital imports between Q3 and Q4 2019, there has been a 42.7% increase in the total value of capital imported between 2018 and 2019. Taking into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy due to the decline in demand and widespread uncertainty, a further decline in foreign capital inflows is expected going forward.