By Eyo Nsima
There were indications that Nigeria has not been attracting much investment as Capital imported into the nation’s economy recorded the fourth consecutive quarterly decline to $1.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 (Q4’22), from $1.15 billion in Q3’22.
Data obtained by The Daily, https://thedaily-ng.com, from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Capital importation report for Q4 ’22 indicated that Capital Importation fell quarter-on-quarter by 27 percent to $1.57 billion in Q1’22, from $2.18 billion in Q4 ’21.
The NBS stated:” In Q4’22, total capital importation into Nigeria stood at $1.06 billion, lower than $2.18 billion recorded in Q4’21, indicating a decrease of 51 percent. When compared to the preceding quarter, capital importation also fell by 8.5 percent from $1.15 billion in Q3’22.
“The largest capital importation during the period was received from Other Investment, which accounted for 65.17 percent ($691.23 million) of total capital imported in Q4’22.
“This was followed by Portfolio Investment with 26.8 percent ($285.26 million) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with 7.9 percent ($84.23 million). Disaggregated by Sectors, capital importation into the production sector recorded the highest inflow of $392.54 million, representing 37 percent of total capital imported in Q4 2022. This was followed by capital imported into the banking sector, valued at $255.45 million (24 percent), and Telecoms with $168.27 million (15.86 percent).
“Capital Importation by Country of Origin reveals that capital from the United Kingdom ranked top in Q4’22 with $455.24 million, accounting for 42.92 percent. This was followed by the Republic of South Africa and the United Arab Emirates valued at $119.31 million (11.25 percent) and $116.82 million (11.01 percent) respectively.
“By Destination of Investment, Lagos state remained the top destination in Q4′ 22 with $600.54 million, accounting for 56.62 percent of total capital investment in Nigeria. This was followed by Abuja (FCT), valued at $424.50 million (40 percent). Categorization of Capital Importation by Banks shows that Citibank Nigeria Limited ranked top in Q4’22 with $308.72 million (29 percent).”
It added: “This was followed by Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited with $232.45 million (21.9 percent) and Rand Merchant Bank with $102.00 (9.62 percent). However, on an annual basis, capital importation was $5.3 billion in 2022, a decrease of 20.47 percent from $6.7 billion in 2021.”
