Foreign portfolio investment and FPI outflows in Nigeria surged by 237 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy interventions.

According to Foreign Portfolio Investment data published by the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX’s research department, foreign portfolio outflows more than tripled.
The outflow in Q1 2024 was N119.81 billion, more than three times that of Q1 2023, which recorded N35.59 billion.
However, the total foreign portfolio inflow for Q1 2024 (N93.37 billion) was more than quintuple in Q1 2023 (N18.12 billion). Thereby leading to disparity between foreign portfolio inflows and outflows.

In the first quarter of 2024, Nigeria recorded a total foreign inflow of N93.37 billion against a foreign outflow of N119.81 billion.

The total net outflow for the quarter was N26.44 billion, underscoring a trend of foreign investors withdrawing more funds than they bring into the Nigerian equity market.
Speaking on Tuesday at the end of the 295th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, the CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, said that it is normal for investors to come and go.

The CBN governor said, “As with any market, there is free entry and exit. That is what you will expect in any market. This is how it works, whether it is a foreign exchange or the stock market. We have seen that portfolio investors come in, and at a certain level, they go out again. I know of some who have come in, gone out, and are coming back again. That is how we normally expect those markets to function.