The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday released the capital importation report for the first quarter of this year, with the investment inflow into the country estimated at $6.3bn.
The investment inflow of $6.3bn is an increase of 17.1 per cent over the $5.38bn recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.
The report stated that the increase in capital inflow in the first quarter of this year was driven mainly by portfolio investment, which grew to $4.56bn from $3.47bn in the previous quarter.
The report noted that portfolio investment inflow was about 72.42 per cent of the total capital imported during the quarter.
It read in part, “The first quarter in 2018 saw a continuous growth in total capital importation into Nigeria, the fourth consecutive quarterly increase since Q2 2017.
“The total value of capital imported in the quarter stood at $6.30bn, which is a year-on-year increase of 594.03 per cent and a 17.11 per cent growth over the figure reported in the previous quarter.
“This increase in capital inflow in Q1 2018 was driven mainly by portfolio investment, which grew from $3.47bn in the previous quarter to $4.56bn, accounting for 72.42 per cent of the total capital importation during the quarter.”
Further analysis of the report showed that Foreign Direct Investment stood at $246.62m, dropping by 34.83 per cent from the figure reported in the previous quarter, and growing by 16.67 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
The report added, “Foreign direct investment in Nigeria was still weak when compared to portfolio investment and other investment, representing only 3.9 per cent of total capital imported.
“Equity investment, a sub-category under the FDI, contributed $246.61m or 99.9 per cent of the FDI during the quarter, while other capital under FDI contributed less than 0.001 per cent.”
In terms of sectors where the $6.3bn was invested, the NBS report stated that banking remained the leading sector for foreign capital.
It added, “During the first quarter, $1.18bn overseas investment flowed to the banking sector, which accounted for 18.7 per cent of the total capital importation. Financing exceeded production, servicing and telecoms sectors to become the second leading sector to receive capital investment, attracting $485.41m during the quarter.
“This was followed by the servicing sector with $328.15m; production sector with $144.09m; and agriculture with $130.90m.”
The report added that telecommunications, which ranked fourth in the fourth quarter of 2017, only had a total of $87.25m foreign capital investment in the first quarter of 2018, declining by 54.32 per cent from the $191.01m recorded in the last quarter of the previous year.
In terms of states where these investment inflows were made, the NBS report noted that in the first quarter of 2018, Abuja remained the leading state to receive foreign capital inflow, after it overtook Lagos in the fourth quarter of 2017, recording an amount of $3.54bn.
This was an increase of 32.24 per cent from the figure recorded in the previous quarter, when it reported $2.68bn.
Similarly, it noted that capital importation to Lagos increased marginally by 4.59 per cent from $2.55bn in the last quarter of 2017 to $2.67bn in the first quarter of 2018, while capital importation to Akwa Ibom was $43.62m, which is a decline of 65.05 per cent from the $124.85m reported in the previous quarter.
