By Dipo Olowookere
In the third quarter of 2020, Nigeria witnessed a capital inflow of $1.46 billion, a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed.
According to the report released on Monday night, this was 74.03 per cent lower than the amount recorded in the same period of last year but 12.86 per cent higher than the figures of the second quarter of the year.
Business Post reports that in the first quarter of this year, the total amount of capital imported into Nigeria was $5.85 billion, but it depreciated to $1.30 billion in the second quarter of 2020 and increased to $1.46 billion in the third quarter.
During the period under review, other investment category witnessed the largest amount of capital inflow into the country, accounting for 43.75 per cent ($639.44 million).
It was followed by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which accounted for 28.38 per cent ($414.79 million), while foreign portfolio investment (FPI), which used to lead, contributed 27.87 per cent ($407.25 million).
As usual, Lagos was the top destination of the capital investment in Nigeria in Q3 2020 with $1.21 billion, accounting for 82.71 per cent. It was followed by Abuja, which attracted $195.57 million, and Abia State, which attracted $56.07 million between July and September 2020.
The capital importation from the production sector dominated in the third quarter of the year with $400.09 million, contributing 27.38 per cent to the total inflow. The banking sector contributed 26.30 per cent at $384.40 million, while shares accounted for 19.38 per cent at $283.22 million.
In terms of the source of the inflow, the United Kingdom dominated with $594.65 million. The Netherlands trailed with $176.28 million, while Ireland contributed $130.00 million.
Looking at the channel these funds were brought into the country, the offshore investors mostly used Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited, accounting for $438.98 million. Citibank followed with $380.74 million, while Stanbic IBTC Bank recorded $279.68 million.
Adedapo Adesanya