The value of capital imported into Nigeria in the second quarter of 2017 rose by $884.1 million to $1.79 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The figure represents about 95.02 per cent increase over what was recorded in the preceding quarter.
The NBS report released Tuesday showed that the main facilitator of the quarterly growth in capital importation in the second quarter was portfolio investments, which increased by 145.7 per cent. It was followed by ‘other’ investments, which grew by 95.02 per cent, and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which rose by 29.8 per cent over the previous quarter’s record.
The report also revealed that the $1.79 billion imported in the second quarter was also an increase of 43.6 per cent from the $1.04 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2016.
Meanwhile, portfolio investments increased by 128.4 per cent, from the $337.3 million recorded in second quarter of 2016. Other investments also increased by 43.6 per cent, from the $520.6 million reported in the same quarter of 2016, while FDI grew by 48.9 per cent, from $184.3 million in the same quarter in 2016.
Portfolio investment was the largest component of imported capital in the second quarter of 2017, put at $770.5 million, or 43.0 per cent of the total. It was followed by other investments, which accounted for $747.5 million, or 41.7 per cent, and then FDI, which accounted for $274.4 or 15.3 during the quarter.
Meanwhile, Lagos accounted for the bulk of capital importation in the review period with 97.07 per cent or $1.739 billion related to its being home of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), apart from its position as the nation’s commercial and financial capital.