By Peter Egwuatu

The total transactions done by domestic investors on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) grew to N1.49 trillion as against N273.16 billion recorded by foreign investors in the first seven months of 2022.

According to the Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) July 2022 report which captured these transactions as well as trading figures from market operators, domestic transactions stood at N886.70 billion in the first seven months of 2021 while foreign transactions stood at N237.49 billion in the same period.

This meant that total domestic transactions on the NGX grew by 67.9 per cent while foreign transactions grew by 15 per cent. Although, the July report revealed that total transactions at the nation’s bourse decreased by 35.36 per cent to N101.18 billion (about $236.86 million) in July 2022 from N156.52billion (about $371.53million) in June 2022.

On the flipside, foreign inflows recorded N13.68 billion while foreign outflows stood at N16 billion. This decline, according to analysts, is due to the scarcity of FX currently bedeviling the economy.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, inflows across capital importation, loans, diaspora remittances, exports, income from investments and other autonomous sources have been dwindling. However, domestic investors have continued to hold its ground on the floor of the NGX despite rising inflation and currency volatility in the foreign exchange market, which remained key drivers of the domestic & foreign portfolio investment.

Over a fifteen year period, domestic transactions had decreased by 58.80 per cent from N3.556 trillion in 2007 to N1.465 trillion in 2021 whilst foreign transactions also decreased by 29.38 per cent from N616 billion to N435 billion over the same period.