Mamtek scandal mars benefits of China's investments

[xchrom]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/MJ13Cb01.html

Across the American Midwest, municipal leaders are braving the increasingly loud anti-China political tide to board planes and head over to the country in the hopes of finding potential investment opportunities that will create jobs in their communities. The hopes of these economic development leaders are that China will be a fount of new jobs and investments in the United States, similar to Japan in the 1980s.

For these mayors, China remains one of the last groups of opportunities with the potential of re-igniting their local economies and bringing hope back to their communities.

As these mayors and heads of economic development agencies


make their way to China, many will be looking at the recent series of events in Moberly, Missouri, and the problems they are encountering over a proposed investment by the Chinese firm Mamtek.

A town of approximately 15,000 people, Moberly has found itself in the midst of a scandal over Mamtek's proposed investment in a new artificial sweetener facility that was to employ over 300 people within 18 months of its opening, and over 600 within several years of its being operational.




***maybe municipalities shouldn't be so quick to pimp themselves out -- PERIOD.

[johnd83]

1. I don't think Chinese companies missing debt payments is uncommon

Check out some of the latest news about Chinese company operations. A lot of them have never been profitable to begin with and have been running on credit.