Foreign investments in the
Nigerian capital market depreciated by N61.58 billion as at the end of July.
In a document obtained from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday by our correspondent, the total investment by foreigners stood at N118 billion by June.
According to the document, an analysts  attributed the decline to the  withdrawal of some foreign investors from the market  due  to  fears and concerns of uncertainty  trailing  the forthcoming 2015 elections.
The analyst also attributed part of the reasons for the reduced foreign  investment to increase security concern,  as well as tight monetary policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
NSE’s statistics on the other hand, showed, that domestic investors increase  their investment in the period under review  as the figure rose from N107.51 billion in June to N167.77 billion in July.
The document disclosed  that this was the second time since the beginning of the year that domestic investors had recorded increased investments  compared to their  foreign  counterparts.

The reduction of foreign investments, according to experts, has led to a major depression in the capital market as the NSE’s All-
Share Index, which measures the performance of the equities on the Exchange, has recorded significant decline.
The Managing Director, Highcap Securities Limited, Mr. David Adonri, said the reduced investments by the foreign investors, who had before now been driving investment in the NSE, was largely as a result of insecurity and the political risk attached any business initiated in the face of the 2015 elections.
He said, “The decline in foreign investment from July to date has led to a general depression of the equities market. Now, the All-Share Index is negative.
“Some of the factors behind the decline include the heightening insecurity in Nigeria, tight monetary policy of the CBN, tapering of quantitative easing by the United States Feds.
“Also, the decline in the price of crude oil has contributed to the reduced investments of the foreign investors in our market. “
Adonri pointed out that there was increasing political risk in the economy as the 2015 elections got closer.’
He added that all these issues had combined to increase the country’s risks, which foreign investors were reacting to.
The President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, said that the market usually responded to the factors in the environment.
This, he said, was not out of place, adding that even though foreign investments were drooping as a result of insecurity and the upcoming elections, there was no cause for alarm.
He said, “We know that next year is an election year and these investors usually adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, to see how things will turn out, hence the reduced investment.
“But, I don’t think there is any need for panic yet, because every market responds to factors within the environment. It is expected that as the fourth quarter approaches, they may begin to take position for the coming year. “