The value of Foreign Portfolio participation in equity trading in the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, hit N851billion as at October, 2017, representing a 60.8 per cent higher than N517.55 billion recorded for the full year ended December, 2016.
The difference which represents a growth of N333 billion is set to further leap once the figures for November and December are released.
Year 2017 has seen an average FPI per month of N85 billion as against N43 billion recorded in 2016. August, March and June recorded the most impressive inflows at N208, N132 and N101 billions respectively, with the lowest been N22.4 billion in April.
In the second quarter of 2017, Nigeria’s economy returned to positive growth as real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.55% compared to Q2 2016, after five consecutive quarters of negative growth. This recovery was driven by improvements in the oil sector (8.8% of GDP), which expanded for the first time in seven quarters.
This renewed confidence has resulted in a rebound in foreign investments with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) up 49% and 128% respectively in Q2’2017 as compared to the same period the preceding year, DailyTrust reports.
Lkewse, investor appetite for equities has increased with the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NSEASI) at 24.4% higher between January and June 2017, recovering from a 6.2% contraction between January and December 2016.
He also noted that the World Economic Forum (WEF) rankings recently placed Nigeria 127 out of 144 countries with the backwardness showing more in the infrastructural capabilities.
