Foreign investors withdrew N45.85bn from the Nigerian stock market in January 2025, far exceeding the N25.66bn recorded as inflows.
The Nigerian Exchange Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report showed that foreign outflows made up 64.12% of total foreign transactions, highlighting persistent concerns over declining investor participation despite the naira’s relative stability.
The report also showed a 7.13% increase in total foreign transactions, rising from N66.75bn in December 2024 to N71.51bn in January 2025.
However, this increase was largely driven by investors liquidating their holdings, as reflected in the significantly higher outflows compared to inflows.
This trend suggests that while some foreign investors remain active in the Nigerian market, a larger share is choosing to exit, driving capital flight.
The outflows coincided with a 9.89% decline in total equity transactions on the NGX, which dropped from N673.66bn in December 2024 to N607.05bn in January 2025.
On a year-on-year basis, total transactions dropped by 6.83 per cent from N651.52bn recorded in January 2024.
The report read, “On a monthly basis, Nigerian Exchange Limited polls trading figures from market operators on their Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment flows.
“As at 31 January 2025, total transactions at the nation’s bourse decreased by 9.89 per cent from N673.66bn (about $438.64m) in December3 2024 to N607.05bn (about $410.84m) in January 2025.
“The performance of the current month when compared to the performance in January 2024 (N651.52bn) revealed that total transactions decreased by 6.83 per cent. In January 2025, the total value of transactions executed by Domestic Investors outperformed transactions executed by Foreign Investors by circa 76 per cent.”
The report also revealed that foreign investors accounted for 11.78% of total market transactions, while domestic investors dominated with 88.22%.
This marks a slight increase from 9.91% in December 2024 but remains well below historical levels when foreign investors played a more significant role in market liquidity and depth.
