MDA’s pitch for SK satellite biz office draws questioning

The Mississippi Development Authority floated - in front of Monday’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee - a proposal to establish an overseas business satellite office in South Korea. MDA already has overseas satellite offices in Chile, China, Japan and the UK promoting trade and economic investment. The SK “idea” came up in MDA’s pitch for an additional $646K in funding. The request drew tough questions from Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who took issue with MDA’s FY-13 spending habits including the spending of $500K for out-of-state travels to NYC and South Korea. SK is not one of Mississippi’s traditionally strong export markets. But figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce show Mississippi’s largest export markets in 2012 was Panama, Canada, China and Honduras. Top-market exports were petroleum, coal products and chemicals. Source: Jackson, Miss., Clarion Ledger, Sept. 19, 2013.