Nigeria’s capital importation fell by 22.85% in the second quarter of 2024, dropping from $3.37 billion in Q1 to $2.60 billion, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Despite the quarterly decline, the report shows a 152.8% year-on-year increase compared to the same period in 2023, when capital importation stood at $1.03 billion.
Portfolio investment was the largest contributor, amounting to $1.40 billion, or 53.93% of total capital importation. Other investments followed closely, contributing $1.169 billion (44.92%), with the majority of inflows coming from loans, which totaled $1.15 billion, accounting for 98.6% of other investments.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remained the lowest type of capital importation, bringing in only $29.83 million, or 1.15% of the total. This underperformance is attributed to increased Monetary Policy Rates (MPR), which have shifted cash away from the real sector into money market instruments.
The banking sector led in capital inflows, recording $1.12 billion, or 43.15% of total imports, followed by the production/manufacturing sector with $624.71 million (23.99%) and the trading sector with $569.22 million (21.86%).
The United Kingdom was the largest source of capital inflows, contributing $1.12 billion (43.01%), followed by the Netherlands with $577.82 million (22.19%) and South Africa with $255.98 million (9.83%).
