(AP) -- 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.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKRCG