Direct investments into Nigeria in the first quarter of 2018 declined by 15.7 per cent to about $808.56 Million, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said in its latest Balance of Payments Report. The decline was in relation to direct inflows in the last quarter of 2017 which stood at about $959.5Million, the report showed.
In contrast, the report also showed portfolio investment inflows increased to $5.14 Billion during the same period, from $3.8 Billion in the previous quarter in 2017. The report said the country’s provisional balance of payment estimates for the quarter showed an improvement, with $7.3 Billion surplus compared to a surplus of about $6.18 Billion in the preceding quarter.
Similarly, the country’s current account balance also improved significantly, from about $3.7 Billion surplus in the last quarter of 2017 to about $4.5 Billion in the first quarter of 2018. The financial account balance indicated a net acquisition of financial assets of $10.3 Billion in the review period against $3.9 Billion recorded in the last quarter of 2017.
Besides, export earnings for the period rose by 10.2 per cent to $14.4 Billion, with Crude Oil and gas, which accounted for over 93.3 per cent of total export earnings for the period, increasing by 10.1 per cent to $13.4 Billion. Earnings from non-oil and gas and electricity exports also increased by 12.3 per cent to $967.08 Million in first quarter of 2018 when compared with the preceding quarter.
