Foreign portfolio investors have returned to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in record numbers, with transactions reaching N2.03tn as of October 2025—exceeding all annual foreign investment totals recorded since 2007.
This is according to the latest Domestic & Foreign Portfolio Investment Report released by the NGX, which shows that foreign investor activity in 2025 has already surpassed every full-year figure over the past 18 years.
The surge reflects renewed investor confidence in the Nigerian market, supported by improved dollar liquidity and smoother processes for repatriating funds.
Before now, the highest comparable inflow occurred in 2014, when foreign investors traded about N1.54tn—outperforming domestic investors. In 2018, their transactions reached roughly N1.22tn, again higher than domestic participation. But after 2018, annual foreign transactions fell below N1tn as local investors dominated the market following significant foreign exits.
The report shows that foreign portfolio investors increased their market share to 21.18 per cent, up from 16.65 per cent, while domestic investors’ share declined from 83.35 per cent to 78.82 per cent.
On a year-to-year basis, foreign investor transactions grew sharply by 172.37 per cent as of October 2025, rising to N2.03tn from N744.34bn during the same period in 2024. Foreign inflows (N1.12tn) also exceeded outflows (N909.56bn).
Overall market participation climbed to N9.57tn, representing a 114.06 per cent increase compared to the N4.47tn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
However, a month-on-month comparison shows that total transactions fell by 36.31 per cent—from N1.62tn in September 2025 to N1.03tn in October 2025. The NGX attributed this sharp drop to the absence of the block trades that had significantly boosted domestic transactions in September.
Compared with October 2024’s figure of N502.73bn, total transactions in October 2025 grew by 105.39 per cent. Domestic investors outperformed foreign investors by about 64 per cent during the month.
Between September and October, institutional investors continued to dominate the market, outperforming retail investors by 22 per cent. While retail trades rose by 19.08 per cent—from N278.57bn in September to N331.71bn in October—institutional transactions fell by 46.17 per cent to N514.25bn but still remained the larger share.
Meanwhile, bearish sentiment has returned to the NGX this week, erasing about N1.79tn from the market’s capitalisation since trading resumed. The downturn has been attributed to heavy sell-offs in major stocks and profit-taking activities, largely by institutional investors.
