Foreign investors’ transactions at the Nigerian stock market have risen to a record high of about N1.3 trillion, underlining improving global investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s macroeconomic outlook.
The latest report on foreign portfolio participation in Nigeria obtained at the weekend indicated that foreign portfolios had more than doubled this year, outpacing the previous year’s portfolios by 114.2 percent.
The report for the seven months ended July 31, 2025, showed total foreign portfolios of N1.28 trillion compared with N598 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2024. Within the same period in 2023, foreign portfolios had stood at N185.62 billion.
The N1.3 trillion foreign turnover also significantly surpassed the N301.37 billion and N262.85 billion recorded within the first eight months of 2022 and 2021, respectively.
The report on foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed substantial increases in two-way transactions by foreign investors, a measure of active participation and tracking of the Nigerian market by global investment fund managers.
The FPI report included transactions from nearly all custodians and capital market operators, and it is widely regarded as a credible measure of the FPI trend.
The report uses two key indicators—inflow and outflow—to gauge foreign investors’ mood and participation in the equities market and the economy. While inflows and outflows indicate the direction of portfolio transactions, total FPI measures the momentum and level of participation.
Foreign inflows tripled to N609.73 billion in the first seven months of this year compared with N266.64 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. Foreign outflows also increased from N331.36 billion by July 2024 to N671.56 billion by July 2025.
The surge in foreign portfolios supported total transactions at the NGX to a seven-month record of N6.01 trillion, nearly double of N3.1 trillion recorded in the comparable period of 2024.
Experts have credited rising foreign inflows with the stability in the Nigerian foreign exchange (forex) market, which has supported the domestic currency.
Experts said investors were reacting positively to stability in the overall macroeconomic environment.
“Specifically, we expect sustained inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) due to existing carry trade opportunities and stronger market confidence,” Cordros Capital stated at the weekend.
Analysts said rising FPIs and growing oil and non-oil exports would continue to support a stable naira.
The naira had appreciated by 1.1 per cent to close the weekend at N1,520.00 per dollar. Cordros Capital cited Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s intervention and increased inflows from FPIs as the two factors behind the naira appreciation.
Nigeria’s gross forex reserves increased to their highest level since December 2021 at the weekend, rising by $353.47 million to $41.08 billion.
OPEC’s August Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) showed that for the second consecutive month, Nigeria’s crude oil output remained above its OPEC+ quota of 1.50 mb/d, averaging 1.50 mb/d in July 2025.
Analysts said the outperformance reflected the combined impact of improved security conditions in the Niger Delta and a gradual rebound in upstream investment, supported by the transfer of divested assets from international oil companies to indigenous operators.
“Indigenous players have increasingly taken the lead in deploying capital and accelerating field development, which has helped sustain production levels despite lingering operational and infrastructural challenges. Notably, average crude production in H1-25 stood at 1.47 mb/d, underscoring the sector’s gradual but fragile recovery momentum. Overall, we expect Nigeria’s crude oil production to remain marginally above the OPEC+ quota through year-end, underpinned by improved security measures and a gradual recovery in sector investments,” Cordros Capital stated at the weekend.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, attributed increasing inflows of foreign direct and portfolio investments to the gains of President Bola Tinubu’s macroeconomic reforms.
According to him, continuing expansions by multinationals operating in Nigeria, as further illustrated by the inauguration of PepsiCo’s $20 million expanded snacks manufacturing facility last week in Lagos, were votes of confidence in the future outlook of the Nigerian economy.
He noted that measures such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market, and market-based pricing, though difficult, had restored transparency, improved liquidity, and stabilized Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment.
Culled from The Nation