Foreign investors hit by Nigeria’s shorter equities trading time

The Nigerian capital market’s aggressive drive toward modernisation has introduced an unexpected friction point for international asset managers. Following the market’s rapid transition to shorter settlement cycles—moving from T+3 down to a swift T+1 framework—foreign investors are facing unprecedented operational bottlenecks.

While the shortened window significantly reduces counterparty risk and boosts local liquidity, cross-border participants are struggling to align global time-zone differences, trade confirmations, and foreign exchange (

The Nigerian capital market’s aggressive drive toward modernisation has introduced an unexpected friction point for international asset managers. Following the market’s rapid transition to shorter settlement cycles—moving from T+3 down to a swift T+1 framework—foreign investors are facing unprecedented operational bottlenecks.

While the shortened window significantly reduces counterparty risk and boosts local liquidity, cross-border participants are struggling to align global time-zone differences, trade confirmations, and foreign exchange (