**As Foreign, Domestic Transactions Rise
By Dipo Olowookere
The value of transactions carried out on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the year 2017 recorded a significant growth, rising by 68.25 percent, Business Post has learnt.
Since 2011, foreign transactions have consistently outperformed domestic transactions, but in 2016 and 2017, domestic transactions marginally outperformed foreign transactions, accounting for 52 percent of the total transaction value in 2017.
According to a report released by the local bourse, the aggregate value of transactions from January to December 2017 increased significantly from N1.511 trillion recorded in 2016 to N2.543 trillion in 2017.
From this amount, our correspondent gathered, foreign transactions carried out at the NSE last year accounted for N1.207 trillion, a huge rise from the N517.55 billion worth of transactions recorded in 2016.
It was further gathered from the report that the value of domestic transactions carried out on the floor of the NSE in 2017 was N1.335 trillion compared with N633.82 billion achieved in 2016.
The report also indicated that institutional composition of the domestic market increased by 673.97 percent from N31.19 billion in January to N241.40 billion in December.
The retail composition also increased by 63.62 percent from N20.12 billion to N32.92 billion within the same period, indicating a higher participation by institutional investors over their retail counterpart.
In the month of December 2017 alone, the report said the total transactions at the local stock market significantly increased by 72.64 percent from N278.49 billion recorded in November 2017 to N480.80 billion in December 2017.
A breakdown showed that during the month, the total foreign transactions increased by 37.56 percent from N150.10 billion recorded in November 2017 to N206.48 billion in December 2017, while the domestic transactions rose by 113.66 percent from N128.39 billion to N274.32 billion within the same period.
The NSE has continued to attract more investors as a result of rising prices of oil in the global market as well as growth in the local economy.
Last year, the nation’s bourse appreciated by over 40 percent and was one of the best performers in the world.
Analysts have predicted a further growth in 2018 for the Nigerian stock market. Already, the market has gained over 15 percent this year.
