By Adedapo Adesanya
Total capital importation into Nigeria dropped by 22.9 per cent and stood at $2.6 billion in the second quarter of 2024 compared to $3.4 billion recorded in the preceding quarter, Q1 2024.
This was contained in the Nigeria Capital Importation Q2 2024 report released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Total importation refers to the inflow of financial resources or capital from foreign countries into a domestic economy. It takes the form of foreign direct importation (FDI), portfolio investment, or other financial assets like loans, grants, or remittances.
On a year-on-year basis, Nigeria’s capital importation for Q2 2024 was 152.8 per cent higher than the $1.03 billion recorded in Q2 2023.
A breakdown showed that Portfolio Investment ranked top with $1.4 billion, accounting for 53.9 per cent, followed by Other Investments with $1.2 billion, accounting for 44.9 per cent while Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) recorded the least with $29.83 million (1.2 per cent) between April and June 2024.
A sectoral analysis showed that the banking sector recorded the highest inflow with $1.1 billion, representing 43.2 per cent of total capital imported in the period under review, followed by the Production/Manufacturing sector, valued at $624.71 million (23.9 per cent), and Trading sector with $569.22 million (21.9 per cent).
The majority of capital importation during the reference period originated largely from the United Kingdom with
$1.1 billion as 43 per cent of the total capital imported was from the island. This was followed by the Netherlands with $577.82 million (22.2 per cent) and the Republic of South Africa with $255.98 million (9.8 per cent).
Only three Nigerian states attracted any foreign capital in the three months led by Lagos state, which for yet another quarter remained the top destination with $1.4 billion, accounting for 52.5 per cent of the total capital imported. Abuja (FCT) followed with $1.2 billion (47.5 per cent), and Ekiti state with $0.0003 million.
Citibank Nigeria Limited received the highest capital importation into Nigeria in Q2 2024 with $818.46 million (31.4 per cent), followed by Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited with $654.79 million (25.1 per cent) and Rand Merchant Bank Plc with $488.59 (18.8 per cent).