Nigeria’s hopes of attracting fresh foreign investment into its stock market have suffered a setback after global index provider FTSE Russell delayed a final decision on returning the country to its Frontier Market index.
The move has created fresh uncertainty over the expected inflow of billions of naira from foreign portfolio investors, even as market experts say the review is not a rejection of Nigeria’s progress.
FTSE Russell said it needs more time to examine the impact of Nigeria’s new stock trading settlement system before deciding whether the country should regain its Frontier Market status.
The global index provider had, in March 2026, upgraded Nigeria from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” during its interim review, with the change expected to take effect in September this year.
However, in its latest update released yesterday, FTSE Russell said a final decision would now be announced by the end of August 2026. According to the organisation, the review became necessary after the Nigerian stock market adopted a T+1 settlement cycle on June 1, 2026.
