Corporate Sectoral Investments and Economic Growth in Nigeria: Evidence from the Capital Market

Abstract

This study aims at articulating an empirical basis for prioritizing corporate sectoral investments in the Nigerian capital market and also, evaluating the extent to which market capitalization of the Nigeria stock exchange reflects the net sectoral investments of corporate organizations quoted therein. Covering the period 1984 to 2009 (26yrs), the study population consists of all the thirty (30) classified sectors of the market, while the study sample is made up of the eighteen (18) sectors with operational activities over the period of study. Multiple correlation and stepwise regression techniques are utilised and the relevant hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The F-test and F-change test statistics are employed. The results establish a significant multiple correlation between the Nigerian Stock Market Capitalization and Corporate net sectoral investments, while net corporate investments in four sectors of capital market activity – petroleum marketing, building materials, packaging and banking are found to significantly contribute to variations in Nigeria’s GDP. It is recommended that these four sectors should continually enhance their capitalizations to facilitate further investments and also, engage in product diversification. Further, the banking sector is recommended to adopt sectoral contributions to the GDP as one of the plausible criteria for lending decisions, while the resolution of an optimal portfolio for sectoral investments in the Nigerian Capital Market is recommended as an issue arising from this study for further research.