Nigeria investment inflow drops to nine-year low –NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) capital importation report for first quarter of 2016, released on Wednesday, has revealed that the country recorded its lowest investment inflow in nine years.
“The total value of capital imported into Nigeria in the first quarter of 2016 was $710.97m, the lowest level since the series began in 2007. The report said.
The report shows that the economy attracted a total investment of N140.07 billion ($710.97 million) which is a decline of 54.34 per cent since the first quarter of 2015.
According to the report, both the quarterly and year-on-year declines were also the lowest recorded since the beginning of the series in 2007.
“This represents a decline of 54.34 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, and a year-on-year decline of 73.79 per cent.
“Both the quarterly and year-on-year declines were also the lowest recorded since the series began. As a result of these changes, total capital importation has fallen by 89.13 per cent since its peak level in the third quarter of 2014.”
The report attributed the decline to “symptomatic of the challenging period that the Nigerian economy is going through following the fall in crude oil prices.”
It said, “Investors may be concerned about whether or not they will be able to repatriate the earnings from their investments, given the current controls on the exchange rate. In addition, as growth has slowed in recent quarters, there may be concerns about the profitability of such investments.”
The report said the largest component of capital importation in the first quarter was portfolio investment. This, the report said, accounted for $271.03m, or 38.12 per cent of all capital imported.
Equity, as the report revealed, was the largest subcomponent of portfolio investment and it accounted for $201.69 million, representing 74.41 per cent of portfolio investment and 28.37 per cent of total capital imported.
By our Correspondent