Nigeria attracted a total of $10,371.90billion in capital importation in the first quarter of 2026, nearly double the $5,642.07billion recorded in Q1 2025, new data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed.
The figure represents an increase of 83.83% year-on-year, and a rise of 60.97% compared to the $6.44billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, signalling a strong rebound in investor confidence in the Nigerian economy.
According to the Q1 2026 Capital Importation Report released on Thursday by the NBS, Portfolio Investment dominated the inflows, accounting for $9,862.34 billion or 95.09% of the total capital imported during the quarter.
Other Investments contributed $374.48 million (3.61%), while Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) recorded the least with $135.08 million, representing 1.30% of total capital importation in Q1 2026.
The NBS report revealed that the Banking sector recorded the highest inflow with $7,550.04 billion, representing 72.79% of total capital imported in Q1 2026, followed by the Financing sector, valued at $2,429.19 billion (23.42%), and Production/ Manufacturing sector with $152.27 million (1.47%).
According to the report, Capital Importation during the reference period originated largely from the United Kingdom with $5,083.76 billion, representing 49.01% of the total capital imported. This was followed by the United States with $3,183.65 billion (30.69%) and the Republic of South Africa with US$983.83 million (9.49%).
It said at the institutional level, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited received the highest capital importation into Nigeria in Q1 2026 with $4,414.37 billion (42.56%), followed by Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc with US$2,778.92 million (26.79%), and Rand Merchant Bank with $930.82 billion (8.97%).
