Nigeria attracts $14.2bn capital flows in five months CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday said Nigeria recorded a total of $14.2 billion capital flows into the country in the first five months of the year.

According to the regulatory bank, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) component of the capital flows stood at $2.87 billion in the period under review.

“Total capital flows to Nigeria, from January to May 2019 stood at $14.2 billion of which FDI accounted for $2.87 billion, representing 20.18 percent of the total amount,” the bank said in a statement signed by its director of corporate communications Isaac Okorafor.

The apex said the total capital inflows to the country stood at $19.07 billion out of which FDI accounted for $7.78 billion.

The regulatory bank said contrary to the report of a decline in total capital flows into the country, the country continues to enjoy steady capital flows due to the prevailing stable macroeconomic environment and sustained investors’ confidence in the economy.

A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to African countries recent showed that FDI inflows to Nigeria declined by 40 percent last year.

The World Investment Report, 2019, indicated that Nigeria is lagging behind many African countries in attracting investment inflows due to some policy issues and dispute with the local unit of South African telecoms firm MTN Nigeria.