Foreign portfolio investment on the Nigerian Exchange Limited rose sharply in May, increasing by 88.54 per cent to N118.91bn from N63.07bn in April 2025.

This is according to the latest Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report by the Nigerian Exchange, which indicated a rise in both foreign inflows and outflows during the period.

The report revealed that foreign inflows rose to N66.11bn in May, up from N26.64bn in April, while outflows also increased to N52.80bn from N36.43bn recorded the previous month.

Total transactions on the Nigerian Exchange in May reached N700.50bn, marking a 45.32 per cent rise from the N482.04bn recorded in April 2025. Compared to May 2024, the figure reflects a 97.11 per cent increase from N355.38bn.

Domestic investors maintained dominance on the Nigerian Exchange in May, accounting for N581.59bn or 83.02 per cent of total transaction value, while foreign investors contributed N118.91bn, representing 16.98 per cent.

Retail investors led the domestic market in May, surpassing institutional investors in trading activity. Retail participation rose by 86.12 per cent to N337.46bn, up from N181.31bn in April, while institutional investment saw a modest increase of 2.72 per cent, rising from N237.66bn to N244.13bn.

Cumulative year-to-date data as of May 2025 showed that domestic transactions reached N2.42tn, accounting for 70.83 per cent of total trades. In contrast, foreign transactions stood at N996.03bn, or 29.17 per cent. This reflects a significant increase from the same period in 2024, when domestic trades were N1.79tn and foreign trades totalled N458.29bn.

The NGX noted that the report was compiled using data from 100 per cent of active trading licence holders and captures equity trading activity on the exchange.