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Portfolio inflows into Nigeria rose to $7.09bn in the second quarter of 2026, from $6.03bn in the first quarter, as foreign investors increased their investments in long-term government debt securities.
This signifies an 18 per cent increase in inflows from Q1. The Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in its second quarter 2026 Economic Report, attributing the increase mainly to higher inflows into long-term general government debt securities.
The rise in portfolio inflows contributed to an increase in Nigeria’s financial liabilities, which climbed to $10.84bn in Q2 from $8.36bn in the preceding quarter.
Portfolio investment involves foreign investors buying financial assets such as government bonds, treasury bills and shares. The latest figures suggest that government debt securities attracted a larger share of the foreign investment recorded during the period.
Other investment liabilities also rose to $2.75bn from $1.36bn, following higher loan drawdowns by the government and other sectors, as well as an increase in currency and deposit liabilities of deposit-taking corporations.
Direct investment liabilities increased to $1.15bn from $1.03bn, driven by higher reinvested earnings.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s net acquisition of financial assets rose to $12.58bn in Q2 from $6.33bn in Q1. This was largely due to an increase in other investment assets, which climbed to $7.96bn from $3.54bn, mainly as residents increased their holdings of foreign currency and deposits.
Reserve assets also increased to $3.51bn from $2.38bn, while portfolio investment assets rose to $700m from $260m as deposit-taking corporations and other sectors acquired more foreign debt securities.
Acquisition of direct investment assets by Nigerian residents also increased to $560m from $200m, mainly due to equity investments.
The increase in financial asset acquisition helped Nigeria’s financial account record a net lending position of $1.74bn, equivalent to 1.96 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, reversing the net borrowing position of $2.03bn, or 2.48 per cent of GDP, recorded in the first quarter.
The shift to net lending was driven mainly by increased acquisition of other investment and reserve assets.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external debt stock rose to $54.52bn at the end of June 2026 from $51.90bn three months earlier, following a $1.5bn Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank and additional multilateral borrowing.
This put the country’s external debt at 16.67 per cent of GDP in Q2.
The $2.62bn increase between March and June was largely driven by the transaction with First Abu Dhabi Bank and $900m in multilateral loans, including borrowings from institutions such as the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group.
Multilateral loans accounted for the largest share of Nigeria’s external debt, standing at $24.76bn, or 45.42 per cent of the total.
Commercial borrowings, including Eurobonds and syndicated loans, amounted to $23.26bn, representing 42.47 per cent. Bilateral loans from other governments stood at $6.61bn, accounting for 12.12 per cent.
The figures show that multilateral and commercial borrowings together made up nearly 88 per cent of Nigeria’s external debt at the end of June.
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