Nigeria experienced a significant rebound in capital importation during the first quarter of 2026, with total inflows reaching $10.37 billion. This represents an 83.83% year-on-year increase compared to the $5.64 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that capital inflows also saw a substantial 60.97% rise on a quarterly basis, up from $6.44 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. This surge indicates renewed foreign investor interest in the Nigerian economy.
The financial sector, particularly banking, was the primary beneficiary of these inflows. Banking alone attracted $7.55 billion, constituting 72.79% of the total capital imported. The financing sector followed with $2.43 billion, or 23.42% of the total.
Portfolio investment emerged as the dominant form of capital inflow, accounting for $9.86 billion, which is 95.09% of the total. Within this category, money market instruments attracted $6.50 billion, bonds secured $3.23 billion, and equity investments totalled $131.81 million. This suggests a preference for fixed-income over equity investments among foreign investors.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remained relatively modest, totalling $135.08 million in Q1 2026, a 6.96% increase from $126.29 million in Q1 2025. However, FDI saw a significant quarterly decline of 62.25% from $357.80 million in Q4 2025, indicating that most of the quarter's inflows were short-term financial flows rather than long-term direct investments.
In contrast to the overall trend, the manufacturing sector experienced a sharp decline in foreign capital inflows. The sector attracted only $152.27 million in Q1 2026, a 50.7% decrease from $308.93 million in Q4 2025. This figure represents just 1.47% of the total capital imported into Nigeria during the quarter.
Other sectors that attracted foreign investments included agriculture ($37.28 million), trading ($65.79 million), and shares ($75.34 million). The electrical sector received the smallest inflow among the top sectors at $2.70 million, while telecommunications attracted $7.24 million and IT services saw $11.33 million.
The United Kingdom was the leading source of capital, contributing $5.08 billion (49.01% of total inflows), followed by the United States with $3.18 billion (30.69%), and South Africa with $983.83 million (9.49%).
Among financial institutions, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited processed the largest share of capital importation, handling $4.41 billion (42.56%). Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc followed with $2.78 billion (26.79%), and Rand Merchant Bank facilitated $930.82 million (8.97%). Other banks processing inflows included Access Bank, Citibank Nigeria, First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, FCMB, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, and United Bank for Africa.
