Nigerian capital inflows more than doubled in Q3 to $4.2bn

The total value of capital imported into Nigeria more than doubled in the third quarter to $4.15 billion, after the economy emerged from a recession, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

Nigeria’s economy grew in the second quarter, climbing out of its first recession in 25 years, as oil revenues rose. Last year the central bank imposed currency controls to prevent a collapse in the naira, which affected foreign capital inflows.

The NBS said capital imports were over $4 billion in the third quarter, the first such quarterly rise since 2015, just before the economy tipped into a recession. The rise was driven by portfolio and other investments, it said in a report.

“Shares recorded the largest amount of capital imported in Q3 2017, closely followed by servicing and production sectors,” the statistics office said.

Britain and the United States were among the top 10 sources of imported capital, the statistics office said.

Capital imports fell to $5.12 billion last year after reaching $9.64 billion in 2015.

Credit: Reuters