Comoros was one of four countries highlighted at an "Investment Showcase" held as part of the fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV). Jointly organised by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Chamber of Commerce, Benin, Comoros, Laos and Zambia were singled out as having "huge potential" and having passed "important economic and regulatory reforms" to facilitate investment and investment protection. The Comorian investment guide-presented by the industry minister, Moussa Abderemane-cited the country's "privileged" location along a number of long-established trade routes, a favourable investment and economic regime, and its "immense and largely underexploited" potential for investment and development.

Previous Investment Showcases have led to some investment in the countries profiled, according to the UN: for example, two Indian information and communications firms opened offices in Kenya, while another Indian firm, Tata, established a US$500,000 software development project in Zambia. It is questionable whether Comoros will benefit from similar deals. According to UNCTAD's 2010 World Investment Report, the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Comoros is a mere US$35 per head, and inflows averaged US$8.3m annually over the 2007-09 period. Over the same period, Cape Verde (whose population is smaller than that of Comoros) received US$174m a year and even Somalia obtained US$112m annually. Indeed, recurrent hopes of attracting substantial FDI have almost invariably been unfulfilled, because of perceptions of political instability and weak governance, the small size of the economy, the Comoros's high level of dependence on imports and its geographic isolation. Perceptions of stability and governance have improved slightly-from a very low base-and some Middle Eastern investors have made substantial pledges in recent months. However, there is little that the government can do about the other factors, in the short to medium term, suggesting that any future investments are likely to follow recent trends, and focus on tourism or social infrastructure.

Download the numbers in Excel