Foreign Investment In Nigerian Stocks Declines 21%

Inflows of foreign portfolio investments dropped by N30.91 billion year-on-year from January to July, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

NGX’s Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for July 2021 showed that inflows from foreign investors totalled N112.74bn, a 21.52 percent decline when compared to the same period of last year.

The total outflows from the equity market as of July 31, 2021, amounted to N124.75bn, representing a 56.62 per cent plunge.

The net foreign portfolio investment year-to-date (a difference between foreign outflows and inflows) stood at N12.01bn, representing negative sentiments in the market from foreign investors.

The report also revealed that the total transactions at the local bourse decreased by 10.92 per cent from N100.77bn (about $244.88m) in June to N89.77bn (about $218.20m) in July.

Further analysis of the total transactions revealed that total domestic transactions decreased by 33.69 per cent from N23.42bn to N15.53bn between June and July.

“Retail Investors outperformed institutional investors by 2 per cent. A comparison of domestic transactions in the current and prior month (June 2021) revealed that retail transactions increased by 4.24 per cent from N36.06bn in June 2021 to N37.59bn in July 2021", the report stated. “However, the institutional composition of the domestic market decreased by 11.24 per cent from N41.29bn in June 2021 to N36.65bn in July 2021.”