This represents a 41.36 percent drop from the value recorded in the previous quarter (Q4 ‘16), and was the second lowest value recorded since 2007, although it was an increase of 27.75 percent relative to the same quarter of 2016.
The NBS report noted that though there was a high-profile Eurobond sales denoted in a foreign currency during the quarter, the inflow has not yet reflected in the data. “There is a lag between subscription and actual payment, and therefore it is possible that this will show up next quarter,” the NBS stated.
The report added: “Capital importation was particularly low in January, at $187.90 million; this was only the fourth month since 2007 in which capital importation was less than $200 million. The main driver of the quarterly decline was a fall in Other Investment, although Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) also contributed. Portfolio investment was the only category to record an increase relative to the previous quarter.
“The fall in FDI comes after four consecutive quarters of increase, and the fall in Other Investment follows three consecutive quarters of increase. However, the data is volatile and, therefore, the dip in Q1’17 may not be sustained. Nearly the entire quarterly fall resulted from declines in capital imported into the Telecommunications and Oil and Gas sectors, which recorded unusually high values in the previous quarter.”
NBS further noted that Lagos State imported the most capital into the country in the first quarter of 2017, as in all previous quarters, accounting for 95.32 percent of total capital importation, which represents a slight decrease in its share relative to the previous quarter, when it was 96.38 percent, but an increase relative to the share in the same quarter of 2016, of 92.53 percent.
Akwa Ibom and Abuja were the states to record the second and third largest amounts of imported capital, recording values of $18.36 million and $14.87 million respectively.”
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