59% of capital importation was foreign loan in 2023 –NBS

Mariam Abeeb

The National Bureau of Statistics latest capital importation report has revealed that 59.1 per cent of capital importation into the country in 2023, amounting to $2.31bn, was foreign loans.
According to the report, foreign capital inflow rose from $654.65m in Q3 2023 to $1.09bn in the final quarter of the year.
Although Nigeria recorded a total foreign investment of $3.91bn in 2023, a breakdown showed that the country got $433.87m in Q1; $771.53m in Q2; $507.71m in Q3 and $594.75m in Q4 as foreign loans and the same amount borrowed in 2022.
Further analysis indicated that the value of foreign loans received by the country in Q3 2023 was 18 per cent lower compared to the $619.16m recorded in the same quarter of the previous year. Moreover, there was a 34.19 per cent decline relative to the $771.53m secured in Q2 2023. This decrease was attributed to the current government’s preference for domestic borrowing.
The report further stated that the country got $627.4m from other equity; $474.1m from bonds; $428.9m from money market instruments; $65.9m from other claims, $1.91m through currency deposits and $51,000 from other capitals.
Comparatively, the Q4 2023 figure slightly surpassed the $1.06bn raked in the same period in 2022, presenting a modest year-on-year improvement of 2.62 per cent.
In a detailed breakdown of Nigeria’s capital importation for Q4 2023, “Other Investment” emerged as the dominant category, capturing the lion’s share of 54.64 per cent or $594.74 million of the total capital inflows.
That was closely followed by portfolio investment, which accounted for 28.46 per cent or $309.76m, while foreign direct investment contributed 16.90 per cent or $183.97m to the mix.
Sector-wise, the production/manufacturing sector led the pack with $450.11m, making up 41.35 per cent of the quarter’s total capital inflow.