Foreign Investors Pour Record Funds Into African Stocks as NGX Sees N2.03 Trillion

Foreign investors poured a record N2.03 trillion into African stock markets during the first ten months of 2025, marking the highest level since 2007 on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). The main exchanges attracting this foreign capital include the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa, the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya, and the Casablanca and Egyptian Stock Exchanges in Morocco and Egypt respectively.

Non-residents can open accounts through local brokers or international intermediaries without strict ownership caps. However, they must adhere to currency risks and repatriation rules, like Nigeria's Certificate of Capital Importation. While South Africa maintains an open portfolio flow policy, Kenya and Nigeria have stricter regulations requiring registration with local central banks and obtaining Certificates of Capital Importation.

Despite these hurdles, foreign participation on the Nairobi Securities Exchange has seen significant volatility, rising and falling sharply throughout 2025. In Q2, foreign investors averaged 46.68% of total equity turnover, marking an 8.44 percentage point increase from Q1. However, by Q3, this share declined to 30.12%, a 16.56 percentage point decrease.

Foreign investor transactions on the NGX reached N2.03 trillion in Q3, up 172.37% year-over-year, constituting 20.77% of total NGX equity transactions. Domestic investors contributed 79.23%.