Nigeria reduces foreign portfolio deficit by N14.5bn

The Nigerian foreign portfolio deficit has fallen by N14.5 billion between the first eight months of 2021 and the first eight months of 2022, Sunday Punch has learnt.

The deficit fell from N15 billion recorded in eight months of 2021 to N1.43 billion reported between January and August, 2022, according to the Nigerian Exchange Limited data.

The deficit captures the difference between ‘s foreign portfolio outflows and inflows.

The FPI outflows refer to foreign investors’ pullout from a country’s stock market as a result of factors such as war, geopolitical tensions, and crude oil price fluctuations, among others.

The FPI inflows, on the other hand, refer to the portfolio equity, net inflows from equity securities, shares, stocks, and direct purchases of shares in local stock markets by foreign investors.

FPI total inflows in the first eight months of 2022 stood at N149.97 billion, compared to the N123.46 billion recorded in the same period of 2021, improving by 21 per cent.

The outflows of the FPI surged to N151.40 billion by August 2022 compared to N139.39 billion, a total increase of 8.6 per cent.

In an interview with Sunday Punch, a stock broker and analyst, David Adonri, said the improvement could be attributed to the influx of more foreign investors patronising Nigerian stocks.

He said there was a massive pullout of foreign investors from the Nigerian stock in 2021 compared to what was being witnessed this year.

According to Adonri, “More foreign portfolio investors exited the market last year. And very few of them remained in the market.

“Out of the few that remain in the market up till this year, you now have that little figure,” he said.

(Punch)