CBN: Nigeria Recorded $14.2bn Capital Inflows in Five Months

•Denies report on drop in FDI

Obinna Chima

Total capital flows to Nigeria between January and May 2019, stood at $14.2 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed last night.

Of the aforementioned amount, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) accounted for $2.87 billion, representing 20.18 per cent of the total amount.

The CBN revealed this in a statement that was signed by its Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, while reacting to a Reuters report which stated that FDIs in the country dropped last year.

The apex bank said its attention was drawn to the news item on Reuters quoting the World Investment Report, 2019, recently released by UNCTAD on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to African countries.

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to the news item on Reuters quoting World Investment Report, 2019, recently released by UNCTAD on FDIs to African countries,” the statement said.

The UNCTAD report had alleged a decrease of over 40 per cent in FDI inflows to Nigeria in 2018.
The CBN statement added: “While the CBN is not privy to the methodology used in arriving at the figures, we wish to state that available records show a significant increase in FDI in Nigeria during the period 2018, contrary to the Reuters’ report.

“For instance, in 2018, the total capital inflows to the country stood at $19.07 billion out of which FDI accounted for $7.78 billion.

“Furthermore, total capital flows to Nigeria, from January to May 2019 stood at $14.2 billion of which FDI accounted for $2.87 billion, representing a 20.18 per cent of the total amount.

“The country continues to enjoy steady capital flows due to the prevailing stable macroeconomic environment and sustained investors’ confidence in the economy.

“Against this background, we wish to urge the public to take advantage of several publications by the CBN and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which give adequate and accurate statistics on the subject matter,” the statement added.