Latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show Nigeria attracted a total capital importation of $11.1 billion in the second and third quarters of 2025.
Combined with the first quarter report, Nigeria recorded $16.7 billion in capital inflows within the first nine months of the year, making it one of the strongest performances in recent times and a major highlight in Nigeria News Today.
The second and third quarter reports had been delayed for nearly six months, raising concerns about transparency before their eventual release.
Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) accounted for over 97% of total capital raised during the period, a structure that raises important questions about sustainability and long-term economic impact.
Breakdown of Nigeria Capital Importation in 2025
Capital importation in 2025 remained elevated across all three quarters:
Q1 2025: $5.64 billion
Q2 2025: $5.12 billion
Q3 2025: $6.01 billion (up 17.5% quarter-on-quarter)
This brings total inflows for the first nine months of 2025 to $16.78 billion, already exceeding the $12.32 billion recorded for the whole of 2024.
Portfolio investment dominated the structure of inflows. In Q3 alone, portfolio flows reached $4.85 billion, accounting for more than 80% of total capital importation. Bond inflows strengthened significantly, while money market instruments remained elevated despite a slight moderation from Q2.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) showed gradual improvement — rising from $126 million in Q1 to $143 million in Q2 and $296 million in Q3 — but remained relatively small compared to portfolio flows.
Cumulatively, FDI for Q1–Q3 remained under $600 million, while portfolio inflows exceeded $14 billion.
Delayed Reports and Transparency Concerns
For nearly six months, the National Bureau of Statistics had published only Q1 2025 capital importation data, leaving Q2 and Q3 figures unpublished despite repeated references by senior government officials to strong inflows.
Officials had publicly cited figures of about $21 billion in capital importation for the first ten months of 2025, describing a significant rebound from 2023 and 2024 levels.
However, without quarterly breakdowns, investors lacked clarity on the composition and sustainability of the inflows.
The delay raised questions around data timing and transparency, issues that remain central to investor confidence in Nigeria’s macroeconomic framework.
Financial Services Sector Leads Inflows
Sectoral data show that 2025 capital inflows were heavily concentrated in financial services.
Banking alone attracted over $3.1 billion in each quarter, accounting for more than half of total inflows across Q1, Q2 and Q3.
The Financing sector followed, pulling in $2.10 billion in Q1, moderating to $873 million in Q2, before rebounding to $1.86 billion in Q3.
Together, Banking and Financing absorbed roughly 70–80% of total capital importation throughout the year.
Outside finance, inflows were more modest:
1. Manufacturing rose to $261 million in Q3
2. Telecommunications increased steadily to $209 million in Q3
3. Electrical sector recorded a spike of $456 million in Q2
4. Agriculture fluctuated between $24 million and $67 million
5. Oil & Gas attracted limited capital relative to its size
Technology, health, construction, and real estate sectors remained comparatively small recipients of foreign capital.
Sustainability Questions Remain
While capital importation has surged in recent quarters, the structure mirrors patterns seen in 2019, when high interest rates attracted strong foreign portfolio investments into fixed income and money market instruments.
That cycle, however, proved short-lived. Monetary easing and the onset of COVID-19 triggered capital exits and ultimately broke the long-defended ₦360/$1 exchange rate band.
The key lesson remains that yield-driven inflows can reverse quickly if policy direction shifts or global shocks intervene.
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