The National Bureau of Statistics released a report on Friday indicating a 43.55% decline in Nigeria’s capital importation to $654.65 million in the third quarter of 2023.

This figure is significantly lower than the $1.159.67 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.

The NBS report titled “Nigeria Capital Importation Q3 2023” stated, “In Q3 2023, total capital importation into Nigeria stood at US$654.65 million, lower than US$1.159.67 billion recorded in Q3 2022, indicating a decline of 43.55%.”

Comparing this to the preceding quarter, the capital importation dropped by 36.45% from $1.030.21 billion in Q2 2023.

The report provided a breakdown of the capital importation by investment type, revealing that other Investments accounted for the majority at 77.56% ($507.77 million), followed by Portfolio Investment at 13.31% ($87.11 million), and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at 9.13% ($59.77 million).

In terms of sectors, the production/manufacturing sector received the highest inflow with $279.51 million, representing 42.70% of the total capital imported in Q3 2023. It was followed by the financing sector at $127.93 million (19.54%) and shares at $85.49 million (13.06%).

The data further revealed that capital importation during the reference period originated largely from the Netherlands, contributing $175.62 million with a 26.83% share. Singapore followed with $79.15 million (12.09%), and the United States with $67.04 million (10.24%).

In terms of destination within Nigeria, Lagos State attracted the highest capital importation in Q3 2023 with $308.83 million, accounting for 47.18% of the total, followed by Abuja (FCT) with $194.66 million (29.73%) and Abia State with $150.09 million (22.93%).

The financial institutions that received the highest capital importation were Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, leading with $222.84 million (34.04%), followed by Citibank Nigeria Limited with $190.03 million (29.03%), and Zenith Bank Plc with $83.04 million (12.68%).