Glass Lewis research chief quits

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Proxy advisors Glass Lewis & Co. said on Monday its managing director of research had resigned, the second senior staffer to leave the Xinhua Finance Co. (9399.T) unit in the past week.

Lynn Turner's resignation follows the departure of Managing Director and Research Editor Jonathan Weil. Barron's said in its May 21 edition that Weil had resigned over issues related to the initial public offering of the company's Xinhua Finance Media unit.

Xinhua Finance Media Ltd.'s XFML.O American depositary receipts fell as much as 16 percent to a record low on Nasdaq, but have regained some ground. Each ADR is worth two common shares.

Xinhua Finance Media's IPO prospectus, filed with U.S. regulators in February, did not disclose certain facts about the company's then-Chief Financial Officer Shelly Singhal, including alleged violations of SEC rules at his broker-dealer company, Bedrock Securities, Barron's reported. The IPO became effective in March.

Singhal resigned from his positions at Xinhua Finance Media and Xinhua Finance last week.

Turner was chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission from July 1998 to August 2001. Weil, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who is widely credited as the first to report on the Enron accounting scandal, joined Glass Lewis in February 2006.

Xinhua Finance issued a statement on Monday, saying it had listed its company "after complying fully with all disclosure and due diligence processes required in the United States."

An internal committee co-chaired by Xinhua's general counsel John McLean and Glass Lewis President Kevin Cameron "continually review the Group's corporate governance to make recommendations to the independent Corporate Governance Board Committee of Xinhua Finance Media and the Board of Xinhua Finance Limited," Xinhua Finance Chief Executive Fredy Bush said in the statement.

Xinhua Finance, Glass Lewis and Bedrock representatives were not immediately available, but Barron's quoted Bush as saying that Singhal believed the allegations were without merit.

Turner had been with Glass Lewis since shortly after its February 2003 inception.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the team of professionals who provide our clients with high-quality research and an important voice on public policy," Turner said in a statement.

Glass Lewis also said it would put together a council to ensure quality standards in its research, including objectivity and independence.

San Francisco-based Glass Lewis helps institutional investors with investment and proxy voting decisions by identifying business, legal, governance and financial statement risks at companies worldwide.

Xinhua Finance Ltd. (9399.T), the company's parent, is a Tokyo-listed financial information and media services company.

Xinhua produces business and financial news programs distributed across television, print media and radio in Beijing and Shanghai.

Shares of Xinhua Finance Media were down 87 cents, or 8.8 percent, at $9.07 in morning Nasdaq trade after hitting an all-time low of $8.31.