The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has reported a significant rise in foreign transactions for the first half of 2024, with figures reaching N540.48 billion. This marks a substantial increase from the N145.08 billion recorded in the same period last year.
According to the NGX’s ‘Domestic & Foreign Portfolio Investment’ report, there was a notable trend of foreign investors liquidating more portfolio investments than they purchased over the six-month period. Specifically, N311.41 billion worth of investments were liquidated, compared to N73.06 billion in foreign outflows for the corresponding period in 2023. Despite this, foreign investment inflows amounted to N229.07 billion in H1 2024, up from N72.02 billion in the same timeframe last year.
The report also indicated a 12.83% decrease in total transactions when comparing the current month’s performance to that of June 2023. Additionally, the share of domestic investors in total transactions was 79.25% in H1 2024, down from 90% in the same period last year. Conversely, foreign transactions constituted 20.75% of the total in H1 2024, compared to 10% in H1 2023.
Over a seventeen-year period, domestic transactions have decreased by 10.94%, from N3.556 trillion in 2007 to N3.167 trillion in 2023. Foreign transactions also saw a decrease of 33.28% during the same period, from N616 billion to N411 billion.
The report further noted that domestic institutional investors outperformed retail investors by 16% on a month-on-month basis. Retail transactions saw a slight increase of 0.43%, rising from N113.53 billion to N114.02 billion between May and June 2024.
This surge in foreign transactions highlights a growing interest in the Nigerian stock market, despite the challenges faced by both domestic and foreign investors in recent years.
