The National Bureau of Statistics’ most recent capital importation data for foreign loans accounted for no less than 59.1% of the $2.31 billion in capital imported into the country in 2023.
According to The PUNCH, the study states that “foreign capital inflow increased to $1.09 billion in the last quarter of 2023 from $654.65 million in Q3 2023.”
Nigeria reported $3.91 billion in total foreign investment in 2023, but a closer look revealed that the nation received foreign loans totaling $433.87 million in Q1, $771.53 million in Q2, $507.71 million in Q3, and $594.75 million in Q4, along with the same amount borrowed in 2022.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the amount of foreign loans the nation received in Q3 2023 was 18% less than the $619.16 million reported in the same quarter of the prior year.
Also, there was a 34.19 per cent decrease from the $771.53 million obtained in the second quarter of 2023. The preference for domestic borrowing by the current government was cited as the reason for this decline.
According to the report, “The nation received $627.4 million from other equity, $474.1 million from bonds, $428.9 million from money market instruments, $65.9 million from other claims, $1.91 million from currency deposits, and $51,000 from other capitals.”
In contrast, the Q4 2023 figure represented a minor year-over-year improvement of 2.62%, as it is marginally above the $1.06 billion earned during the same quarter in 2022.
When Nigeria’s capital importation for Q4 2023 was broken down in-depth, ‘other Investments’ stood out as the most important category, accounting for $594.74 million, or 54.64 per cent, of all capital inflows.
Portfolio investments came in second, making up 28.46 percent or $309.76 million, and foreign direct investment made up 16.90 percent or $183.97 million of the total.
Production and manufacturing accounted for $450.11 million, or 41.35 percent of the overall capital intake for the quarter, placing them at the top of the sector rankings.
The finance sector also made a noteworthy entry at $135.59 million, representing 12.46 percent of the total capital imported into Nigeria during the time under consideration. The banking sector followed suit, obtaining $283.30 million, or 26.03 percent of the investments.
Throughout the observation period, the United Kingdom emerged as the primary source of capital inflows to Nigeria, accounting for 24.55% of overall inflows with a $267.24 million contribution.
Following closely behind, Mauritius contributed $226.18 million to Nigeria’s GDP, or 20.78 percent of total capital imports.
With investments totaling $149.93 million, the Netherlands also made a substantial contribution, accounting for 13.77 percent of all capital brought into the nation in Q4 2023.
The Federal Government declared on Friday that, in the eight months since taking office, it had received commitments from foreign investors totaling $30 billion in investments.
At a ministerial press briefing hosted by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation to update the public on the administration’s ongoing economic plans and reforms, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Anite, revealed this.
She stated that “following President Bola Tinubu’s visit to India and other oil and gas investors, the investments were made.
“Anite also out that the elimination of fuel subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange had drawn investments, boosting economic expansion, the creation of jobs, and capital accessibility.”
