The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Local News

November 30, 2011

Mo. jobs chief defends review of sweetener maker

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s top economic development official says it would have been a poor use of taxpayer money to double-check all the claims made by a Chinese company promising to build an artificial sweetener factory in Moberly.

Economic Development Director David Kerr told a House committee Wednesday that the department did follow due diligence procedures in reviewing a request for incentives by Mamtek U.S. Inc. But Kerr said it’s an inefficient use of state money to second-guess the assertions made by a business or run a background check on its officials. That’s because he says Missouri’s performance-based incentives are paid only after a business creates jobs or makes a capital investment.

Construction on the Mamtek factory in Moberly halted this fall after Mamtek’s financing fell apart and it missed a bond payment.

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