Even as the coronavirus pandemic raged, Nigeria recorded its highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in eight quarters in the third quarter of 2020, as the nation attracted investment worth $414.79 million.
The new figures are contained in the data released by the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) on Tuesday.
According to the Trade Data Quarterly brochure for the third quarter of 2020, the jump in Q3 represents a 179 per cent increase from the $148 million the country attracted in Q2 2020.
PREMIUM TIMES analysis of the figures shows that this is the highest figure since the third quarter of 2018 and it is more than the sum of both Q1 and Q2 of 2020.
The data also indicates that the FDI was 100 per cent equity.
Earlier in the second quarter of 2020, FDI slumped to $148 million from $213 million in the preceding quarter.
NOTN said the FDI value for the second quarter was the lowest in the range that covers 10 quarters, representing data from Q1 2018 to Q2 2020.
Relying on data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the report said Nigeria attracted FDI of about $148.59million in Q2 2020, and this was lower than it was in Q1 2020 ($213 million).
But the FDI figures soared in the third quarter of 2020, ostensibly because the “gradual global ease of Covid-19 lockdown activated some economic activities” around the world.