Domestic buyers maintained a commanding presence on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) within the first 5 months of 2025, with whole transactions surging to N2.419tn, greater than double the N996.03bn recorded from overseas portfolio buyers inside the similar interval.
This is in response to the May 2025 version of the Domestic & Foreign Portfolio Investment Report launched by the NGX and reviewed by THE WHISTLER. The knowledge underscores the widening participation hole between home and overseas buyers, revealing that home transactions outpaced overseas transactions by N1.423tn, representing a margin of 142.87 per cent.
The disparity is basically attributed to weak sentiment amongst overseas buyers, a lot of whom are more and more risk-averse within the face of Nigeria’s macroeconomic volatility. Foreign portfolio buyers, recognized for his or her responsiveness to {economic} and coverage uncertainties, look like lowering their market publicity amid inflationary pressures, forex fluctuations, and lingering coverage ambiguity.
For the month of May 2025, the entire worth of transactions on the NGX rose considerably by 45.32 per cent, climbing from N482.04bn in April to N700.50bn.
When in contrast with the identical interval within the earlier yr (May 2024), which posted N355.38bn in whole transactions, the May 2025 determine marks a 97.11 per cent year-on-year enhance.
Domestic buyers dominated exercise through the month, accounting for N581.59bn (roughly 83 per cent) of the entire transactions, a 38.81 per cent enhance from N418.97bn in April.
Meanwhile, overseas transactions, although notably improved, remained modest as compared, rising 88.54 per cent from N63.07bn to N118.91bn.
A better have a look at home transaction knowledge revealed that retail buyers considerably outperformed institutional buyers. Retail trades surged by 86.12 per cent, rising from N181.31bn in April to N337.46bn in May. Institutional investor exercise rose marginally by 2.72 per cent, from N237.66bn to N244.13bn over the identical interval.
This shift highlights rising retail investor confidence and engagement within the Nigerian capital market, presumably pushed by improved digital entry to buying and selling platforms, relative resilience in choose fairness segments, and inflation-hedging motives amid persistent client worth pressures.
Looking at broader tendencies, the NGX report reveals that over 18 years, from 2007 to 2024, home transactions on the Exchange elevated by 33.15 per cent from N3.556tn to N4.735tn. Foreign transactions additionally rose by 38.31 per cent, from N616bn to N852bn throughout the identical time-frame.
In 2024, home buyers accounted for about 85 per cent of whole transactions on the NGX, leaving overseas buyers with simply 15 per cent.
The NGX’s newest knowledge reinforce the pivotal position of home buyers, particularly retail members, in sustaining market momentum, at the same time as world uncertainties and home {economic} headwinds weigh on overseas capital inflows.
Analysts say coverage readability, macroeconomic reforms, and improved FX liquidity might assist entice extra overseas participation, however for now, native buyers stay the driving drive behind Nigeria’s capital market resilience.
