By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Transactions worth N1.506 trillion were attracted by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from both local and offshore investors between January and May 2022, compared with the N933.65 billion recorded in the same period of last year, according to data from the bourse.
In a report released by NGX Regulation Limited on behalf of NGX, the Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) May 2022 report captured these transactions as well as trading figures from market operators.
Additionally, domestic investors have continued to hold ground on the floor of the NGX despite rising inflation and currency volatility in the foreign exchange market, which remained key drivers of the domestic and foreign portfolio investment.
Further analysis has shown that foreign transactions stood at N201.29 billion, accounting for about 13.37 per cent of the total transactions carried out from January to May, while domestic transactions constituted N1.304 trillion, representing 86.63 per cent of the total transaction, outperforming the foreign investment during the same period.
Analysis of domestic transactions showed that institutional investors outperformed retail investors. A comparison of domestic transactions in the period under review revealed that retail transactions pulled N408.03 billion in investment, while institutional investors’ investment amounted to N896.21 billion from January to May 2022.
For May, total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased by 195.05 per cent from N205.88 billion (about $494.26 million) in April 2022 to N607.45billion (about $1.45 billion) in May 2022. The performance of the current month when compared to the performance in May 2021 (N97.19 billion) revealed that total transactions increased by 525.01 per cent. In May 2022, the total value of transactions executed by Domestic Investors outperformed transactions executed by Foreign Investors by circa 86 per cent.
Subsequently, the total transactions executed between the current and prior month revealed that total domestic transactions increased by 214.40 per cent from N178.80 billion in April to N562.15 billion in May 2022. In contrast, total foreign transactions increased by 67.28 per cent from N27.08billion (about $65.01 million) to N45.30 billion (about $108.02 million) between April 2022 and May 2022.
However, the report revealed that “Over 15 years, domestic transactions decreased by 58.80 per cent from N3.556 trillion in 2007 to N1.465 trillion in 2021, while foreign transactions also decreased by 29.38 per cent from N616 billion to N435 billion over the same period.”
Consequently, the stock market regained more confidence at the start of the year, with key drivers like BUA Foods, listing on NGX; investors’ reaction to companies’ full-year earnings and dividend declarations; predominance of domestic players over foreign players in the market, and low yields in the fixed income market which forced investors to consider more profitable securities in the equity market.
Capital market analysts stated that local investors are taking advantage of the incredibly low prices of stocks in NGX to increase their investments.
They explained that local investors are increasing their stake in the equities market due to the attractive dividend yield in the market and because of the low yield environment in the fixed income market.
They observed that the development is good for the local bourse, saying that it would restore credibility and stability to the market, which was hitherto marred by volatility occasioned by the activities of foreign investors.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka