Nigeria attracted Foreign direct investment to the tune of $720 million in the third quarter of 2025, up sharply from $90 million in the previous quarter.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Balance of Payments Highlights for the period, this represents a 700 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter.
On a year-on-year basis, the inflow was also higher than the $570 million posted in the third quarter of 2024, indicating a 26.3 per cent rise.
The report further showed that Direct Investment liabilities, which capture foreign direct investment into the economy, stood at $0.72 billion in the third quarter of the year, making it the strongest quarter for FDI so far in 2025.
“Direct Investment into the economy recorded a much higher inflow of $0.72bn in Q3 2025 as against $0.09bn recorded in Q2 2025,” the report read in part.
The CBN data showed that the improvement in the third quarter coincided with firmer external-sector indicators, as Nigeria posted an overall balance of payments surplus of $4.60 billion, while external reserves rose to $42.77 billion as of the end of September 2025 from $37.81 billion at the end of June 2025.
The financial account switched to a net lending position of $0.32 billion from a net borrowing of $6.90 billion in the second quarter, suggesting that the country accumulated more external assets during the period.
However, portfolio investment inflows fell to $2.51 billion in the third quarter compared with $5.28 billion in the second quarter, indicating that while short-term capital moderated, longer-term equity-type inflows strengthened
According to the CBN, broader movements in the financial account reflected increased direct investment liabilities, improved participation in domestically issued instruments earlier in the year and higher reserve accumulation.
The report also showed continued repatriation of reinvested earnings by domestic banks on their foreign assets, contributing to a wider primary income debit of $2.95bn in the third quarter.
This indicates that profit outflows by foreign investors continue to weigh on the current account despite the headline improvement in FDI. Nigeria recorded a current account surplus of $3.42 billion in the quarter, driven mainly by crude oil and refined-product export earnings and steady diaspora remittances.
Crude oil export receipts rose to $8.45 billion, while refined-product exports increased to $2.29 billion. The apex bank added that refined-fuel imports continued to decline, helping foreign exchange liquidity and reserve accretion.
