Ike Amos
Dublin, Ireland — Foreign investment inflow into the Nigerian oil and gas industry stood at $0.75 million in the first quarter of 2023, rising by 22.95 per cent from $0.61 million recorded in the same period in 2022, according to latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
However, the inflow in the first quarter of 2023 was 66.81 per cent lower than the $2.26 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The NBS, in its Nigerian Capital Importation Report for the first quarter of 2023, disclosed that the oil and gas sector accounted for 0.07 per cent of the total capital imported into the country in the period under review.
According to the NBS total capital importation into Nigeria in the first quarter of 2023 stood at $1.133 billion, 27.97 per cent lower than the $1.573 billion recorded in first quarter 2022.
When compared to the preceding quarter, the statistics agency reported that capital importation rose by 6.78 per cent from $1.061 million recorded in fourth quarter 2022.
The NBS disclosed that the “largest capital importation during the period was received from portfolio investment, which accounted for 57.32 per cent, about $649.28 million of the total capital imported in first quarter 2023; followed by other investment with 38.31 per cent ($435.76 million) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with 4.20% (US$47.60 million).
“Disaggregated by Sectors, capital importation into the banking sector recorded the highest inflow of US$304.56 million, representing 26.89% of total capital imported in first quarter 2023. This was followed by capital imported into the production sector, valued at $256.12 million (22.61%), and IT Services with US$216.06 million (19.08%).
“Capital Importation by Country of Origin reveals that capital from the United Kingdom ranked top in first quarter 2023 with $673.64 million, accounting for 59.47 per cent. This was followed by the United Arab Emirates and the United States valued at $108.28 million (9.56 per cent) and $95.36 million (8.42 per cent) respectively.
Few weeks ago, the NBS had stated that foreign investment inflow into the petroleum industry dipped by 93.74 per cent to $6.37 million in 2022, compared with $101.82 million recorded in 2021.
The NBS, in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2022, stated that the petroleum industry accounted for 0.12 per cent of total foreign capital imported into the country in 2022, compared with 1.52 per cent of total capital imported in 2021.
According to the statistics agency, in the first and second quarter of 2022, the oil and gas sector attracted $0.61 million and $1.93 million, respectively, while in the third and fourth quarter of 2022, $1.57 million and $2.26 million were attracted into the sector, respectively.
In comparison, in the first, second, third and fourth quarter of 2021, $57.25 million, $11.32 million, $0.94 million and $32.31 million foreign capital were imported into the oil and gas sector respectively.
