Statistics bureau says Nigerian capital imports dropped by 74% in Q1

folarin okunola

May 6, 2016 3:49 PM

In September, JP Morgan announced it would eject the country from its influential emerging markets bond index because of the currency controls.

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)

The National Bureau of Statistics has stated that the total value of capital imported into Nigeria in the first quarter dropped to $710.97 million, a 73.79 percent decline from the same quarter a year ago.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil exporter and has been hit by its worst economic crisis in years, as low oil prices has caused government revenues to plummet.

Last year, the central bank imposed currency controls to prevent a collapse of the naira, along with other measures to stem the fall in value of the currency.

Nigeria has seen an exit of foreign money in the last few months. In September, JP Morgan announced it would eject the country from its influential emerging markets bond index because of the currency controls. Barclays announced similar measures soon after.

READ: "Inflation climbed to four-year high 12.8% in March" - national stats agency

"Investors may be concerned about whether or not they will be able to repatriate the earnings from their investments, given the current controls on the exchange rate," the statistics office said, according to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.

"In addition, as growth has slowed in recent quarters, there may be concerns about the profitability of such investments."

A shortage in foreign exchange has seen the naira drop to record lows on the parallel market in recent months. However, the CBN has resisted calls from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ease the restrictions, a stance supported by President Muhammadu Buhari.

folarin okunola