Nigerian Stock Exchange Records $4.7 Billion in Foreign Investment

The Management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has revealed that inflows and outflows of foreign portfolios in Nigeria’s stock market has hit N747 billion ($4.7 billion). The NSE submits that foreign transactions from January to March was N217.57 billion ($1.37 billion) or 42.7% of the total N510.1 billion ($3.22 billion) for the total transactions in that period. From April to June  of the same year, N365.07 billion ($2.3 billion) of foreign investment was recorded, while July to August accounted for 164.59 billion ($1.04 billion). Mr. Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the NSE explained that “Recent market-friendly reforms implemented by the exchange had positively impacted the stock market, making it the second fastest-growing African bourse, at 33 percent and providing an attractive destination for investment seekers.” “Last year, the NSE recorded a local participation of 44 per cent, while foreign participation accounted for 56 per cent of activities in the same year. The rally we saw in the market in 2012 was on the back of foreign investments.” “It is also good that our local investors have started to return to the market and we are very hopeful that we will see more of this as the year runs out, we at the Exchange are bullish that the market would pick up further this year.”