Equities and bonds attracted $1.08 billion through capital importation in the first quarter of 2020. According to the report on capital importation as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), equity investment that came into the country through foreign direct investment (FDI), and equity and bond investments that came into the country in the form of portfolio investment amounted to $1.085 billion.
Nigeria attracted $5.85 billion as capital importation in the first quarter of 2020, representing 53.97 percent increase over $3.80 billion capital imported in the last quarter of 2019, and a decrease of 31.19 percent when compared with $8.51 billion brought in in the first quarter of 2019.
The FDI equity investment equalled $213.84 million representing 3.7 percent of the $5.85 billion that came into the country through capital importation in the first three months of this year. The FDI equity investment for Q1 2020 fell by 14.31 percent when compared with $249.55 million that came into the country in Q4 2019 and decreased by 13.31 percent when compared with $246.67 million that came into the country as capital importation for FDI equity investment in the first quarter of 2019.
Equity form of portfolio investment attracted $639.72 million in the first quarter of 2020. In the last quarter of 2019, investors brought in $353.65 million, and $656.23 million in the first quarter of 2019. On a quarterly basis, equity portfolio investment increased by 80.89 percent while on a year on year basis, it fell by 2.52 percent. This form of investment represented 10.9 percent of the entire capital importation in the first quarter.
Bonds also attracted $231.22 million in the first quarter of 2020. This amounted to 3.9 percent of the entire capital imported into Nigeria in the first three months. On a quarterly basis, the first quarter equity portfolio investment skyrocketed by 388.23 percent but fell by 59.23 percent of a yearly basis.
By sector, the banking sector attracted $2.99 billion which is 51.08 percent of the entire capital imported into the country in Q1 2020. Investment in shares gulped $817.38 million which amounted to 13.96 percent. Financing activities attracted 22.77 percent of the total capital importation which was $1.33 billion in the first quarter of 2020.
in spite of the inflows into shares, which was 13.96 percent of the total capital importation in the first quarter, the equity market closed in the negative territory, at -20.65 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2020. Put in another way, the equity market shed N1.86 trillion going by the closing figure of the market capitalisation at N11.10 trillion by March 31 2020 as against N12.96 trillion on the last trading day of 2019.
On the contrary, the bond market appreciated in value, closing the first quarter of the year at over N13 trillion as fixed income instruments became the toast of investors following the bearish sentiment that swept the market.
Investors brought in 28.3 percent of the total capital importation through Standard Chartered Bank in the first quarter of 2020. Next is Stanbic IBTC through which investors channelled into the country 23.6 percent. Citibank was responsible for 11.8 percent; First Bank, 11.6 percent; Rand Merchant Bank, 10.4 percent while 4.4 percent came in through Access Bank.
