NGX: Foreign, Domestic Transactions Hit N2.2trn In Q1

Investment from domestic and foreign transactions rose to N2.232 trillion between January and March 2025 on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

This was revealed in the NGX Domestic & Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for March 2025. The figure surpasses the N1.548 trillion recorded for the same period of 2024.

Investor participation in Q1 2025 showed that domestic investor transactions were valued at N1.418 billion, accounting for 63.53 per cent, while foreign investor participation amounted to N814.05 billion, representing 36.47 per cent of the total transactions in Q1 2025.

As of March 31, 2025, total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased significantly by 118.95 per cent from N509.47 billion in February 2025 to N1.116 trillion in March 2025.

In March 2025, the total value of transactions executed by foreign investors outperformed transactions executed by Domestic Investors by circa 26 per cent.

Further analysis of the total transactions executed between March and February revealed that total domestic transactions decreased by 10.98 per cent from N466.82 billion in February 2025 to N415.62 billion in March 2025.

However, total foreign transactions increased significantly by 1,541 per cent from N42.65 billion to N699.89 billion between February 2025 and March 2025.

Also, institutional investors outperformed retail investors by six per cent. Retail transactions decreased by 8.11 per cent from N214.51 billion in February 2025 to N197.12 billion in March 2025. Similarly, the institutional composition of the domestic market decreased by 13.40 per cent from N252.31 billion in February 2025 to N218.50 billion in March 2025.

The managing director of AIICO Capital, Dr Femi Ademola, said Nigerian equities have become very attractive to both foreign and domestic investors, saying the equities market has become very attractive, mostly due to the devaluation of the currency, which makes the shares very cheap, especially to foreign investors.

The managing director of Arthur Steven Asset Management, Olatunde Amolegbe, said the ongoing banking recapitalisation and the reforms in the oil sector have driven more investors to the market.

“We have seen increasing returns of foreign portfolio investors; I understand the turnover by FPIs has grown significantly in the last few months. This can be attributed to the weaker naira that makes Nigerian stocks a bargain for FPIs.

“Secondly, new listings such as Aradel also boosted investors’ appetite for stocks.

This can also be seen in the light of the approval of Exxon Mobil’s acquisition by Seplat by the federal government. Thirdly, the banking recapitalisation exercise along with impressive second quarter reports have continued to attract investments towards that sector,” Amolegbe added.

The managing director of HighCap Securities, David Adonri, said the banking sector has contributed substantially to the growing turnover at the stock market, saying, “The recapitalisation of banks is orchestrating demand for their shares even in the secondary market. Highly capitalised stocks in the petroleum sector have also been upbeat. Also, investors have reacted positively to the big interim dividends declared by banks.”