The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) is poised to break records in 2025, as robust investor activity and renewed foreign interest put the local bourse on pace for its most active year ever.
In just the first 14 trading sessions of July, the NGX recorded a turnover value of N694 billion (approximately $454 million). This July figure alone already accounts for 15 percent of total market turnover recorded year-to-date, an early indication of another landmark year.
By July 21, the NGX had recorded a cumulative turnover value of N4.5 trillion, representing 80.5 percent of the N5.53 trillion turnover recorded in 2024, which was the highest annual figure in modern history.
In 2008, when the financial crisis hit, the market recorded a cumulative turnover of N4.758 trillion. However, in USD terms, the turnover was about $34 billion.
At this trajectory, 2025 is firmly on course to surpass the 2024 milestone and etch itself into the history books.
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Foreign capital is returning
One of the defining stories of 2025 has been the resurgence of foreign investors. Between January and May, foreign transactions on the NGX totalled N996 billion ($638 million), the highest volume of foreign trades since 2018. This trend is being attributed to recent foreign exchange reforms and greater clarity around the Central Bank’s foreign exchange policies, which have restored investor confidence.
In 2024, foreign transactions stood at N852 billion, then the highest level since 2019. That figure represented a 15 percent share of the total market turnover, the largest foreign participation seen since 2021. However, by May 2025, foreign participation had already soared to 29 percent, nearly double last year’s level.
Analysts expect this momentum to continue, particularly with Nigerian blue-chip stocks gaining visibility with foreign institutional investors. GTCO Holdings’ listing on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year is a key example of how cross-border exposure is creating new channels for foreign capital inflows.
Retail investors are driving local momentum
While foreign inflows are driving headlines, domestic participation has remained healthy and balanced. Between January and May 2025, domestic transactions totalled over N2.4 trillion, split almost evenly between retail investors (N1.197 trillion, or 49.5 percent) and institutional investors (N1.22 trillion, or 50.5 percent). The dynamic mirrors 2024’s numbers, where retail investors accounted for 49.4 percent of domestic activity.
The sustained retail interest is largely tied to the market’s staggering long-term returns. Since the start of 2019, the NGX has delivered a cumulative return of 391 percent, attracting a growing pool of everyday investors and triggering deeper conversations around wealth creation and financial inclusion.
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Small Caps, Big Gains
Beyond the banking and manufacturing heavyweights, the real action has been among lower and mid-cap stocks, many of which have posted astronomical gains in recent years.
Presco Plc has surged by over 2,000 percent since 2019, with its market capitalisation jumping from N62 billion to N1.33 trillion. Transcorp Plc appreciated by 1,000 percent between 2019 and its share reconstruction in October 2024. UAC Nigeria and Vitafoam have risen by 413 percent and 1,900 percent, respectively, in the same period.
These outsized returns are largely driven by fundamentals, strong earnings growth, resilient business models, and consistent dividend payouts, factors that retail and institutional investors alike are increasingly attuned to.
With over five months still left in the year, the NGX’s performance so far positions it to close 2025 as the most active year in its history. Record turnovers, renewed foreign confidence, and broad-based retail enthusiasm are all converging to reshape the Nigerian capital market landscape.
