Capital imports increase 182% to $3.37 billion

•As foreign portfolio accounts for 95.7%

By Babajide Komolafe

Capital importation rose by 182 per cent month‑on‑month to $3.37 billion in January, up from $1.25 billion in December, largely due to a surge in foreign portfolio investment in bonds and money‑market instruments.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released this information in its monthly economic report for January 2026.

The report noted: “The economy recorded a higher inflow of capital during the review period, driven mainly by the significant increase in portfolio investment inflow. A total capital inflow of $3.52 billion was recorded in January 2026, compared with $1.25 billion in the preceding month.”

“A disaggregation showed that inflow of foreign portfolio investment amounted to $3.37 billion, a surge from the $0.94 billion in December 2025, due to significantly higher inflows for the purchase of bonds and money‑market instruments. However, ‘other investment’, mainly loans, declined to US$0.12 billion from US$0.16 billion.”

Similarly, direct investment fell by 80.0 per cent to $0.03 billion in the review period.

“Portfolio investment was the dominant source of foreign capital accounting for 95.72 per cent of total inflow, while other investment and direct investment accounted for 3.51 and 0.77 per cent, respectively.”

Analysis of capital importation by nature of business revealed the banking sector as the major recipient, with 75.15 per cent of total inflows. Financing activities attracted 22.20 per cent, while production/manufacturing and shares accounted for 1.16 and 0.76 per cent, respectively. Other recipients included trading (0.41 %), agriculture (0.17 %), and IT services (0.07 %), with other business activities making up the balance.

Analysis of capital inflows by country of origin showed that the United States accounted for 46.25 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom (40.57 %), Mauritius (5.80 %), South Africa (3.21 %) and the United Arab Emirates (1.38 %). Other sources included France (1.22 %), Belgium (0.52 %), Singapore (0.32 %), Isle of Man (0.16 %) and Morocco (0.10 %), with inflows from other countries constituting the balance.

Capital importation by destination showed Lagos state as the highest recipient, with a share of 90.17 per cent of the total inflow. This was followed by the Federal Capital Territory (9.80 %), Ogun state (0.02 %), and Akwa‑Ibom state (0.01 %).

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