Nigeria: Foreign capital flow into oil sector rises by 67% to $69.5m
Dublin -- Foreign capital inflow into the Nigerian oil and gas industry rose by 66.81 per cent to $69.51 million in nine months, January to September 2021, compared to $41.67 million recorded in the same period in 2020.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in its Nigeria Capital Importation Report for the third quarter of 2021, the total value of foreign capital attracted by the petroleum industry in the nine-month period in 2021, was also 29.93 per cent higher than the $53.5 million foreign capital imported into the sector in the whole of 2020.
The nine-month 2021 foreign capital inflow was, however, 64.47 per cent lower than the $195.61 million inflow recorded in the same period in 2019, but 67.85 per cent lower than the $216.23 million inflow recorded from January to December 2019.
Giving a breakdown of the inflows, the NBS reported that in the first and second quarter of 2021, foreign funds valued at $57.29 million and $11.32 million, respectively, were imported into the country, while in the third quarter of 2021, $0.94 million inflow was recorded.
In comparison, in the first, second, third and fourth quarter of 2020, foreign capital inflow into the oil and gas industry stood at $10.09 million, $6.55 million, $25.03 million and $11.83 million, respectively; while in the same periods in 2019, $17.22 million, $139.73 million, $38.66 million and $20.62 million, respectively, were recorded. Furthermore, the NBS stated that foreign investment inflow into the oil and gas industry in the nine-month period of 2021 accounted for 1.54 per cent of the $4.513 billion total inflow recorded in the country in the same period.
In comparison, the NBS stated that in the same period in 2020, inflow into the oil and gas industry accounted for 0.48 per cent of the $8.61 billion total inflow into the Nigerian economy from January to September 2020, and 0.97 per cent of the $20.188 billion total inflow into the country in the nine-month period of 2019. Giving an analysis of inflows in the third quarter of 2021, the NBS
said: “The total value of capital importation into Nigeria in the third quarter of 2021 stood at $1.731 billion from $875.62 million in the preceding quarter of 2021; showing an increase of 97.73 per cent. When compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020, capital importation as well increased by 18.47 per cent from $1.461 billion.
“The largest amount of capital importation by type was received through portfolio investment, which accounted for 70.30 per cent ($1.217 billion) of total capital importation. This was followed by Other Investment which accounted for 23.47 per cent ($406.35 million) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounted to 6.23 per cent ($107.81 million) of total capital imported in third quarter 2021.”