HARBIN, China, Sep. 1, 2009 (PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall) -- Harbin Electric, Inc. ("Harbin Electric" or the "Company", Nasdaq: HRBN), a leading developer and manufacturer of a wide array of electric motors in the People's Republic of China, today announced that it received a letter (the "Letter") from The Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq") on August 27, 2009, notifying the Company that as a result of Mr. Feng Bai's decision not to continue serving as a member of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") and as a member of the Audit Committee of the Company's Board, both effective immediately following the Company's 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders that was held on August 20, 2009 ("Annual Meeting"), that the Company no longer complies with Nasdaq's audit committee requirements.
Commenting on the receipt of the Letter, Mr. Tianfu Yang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Harbin Electric, stated, "The Company and the Board are committed to strong corporate governance and compliance with listing rules. As soon as Mr. Feng Bai informed the Board of his decision not to continue serving as a member of the Board, the Board appointed Dr. Ching Chuen Chan to its Audit Committee to replace Mr. Feng Bai, effective August 20, 2009.
"The sudden death of Patrick McManus, who served as the chairman and financial expert of the Audit Committee of the Board, however, has deprived us of the presence of a 'financial expert' in our Audit Committee. We intend to remedy this situation in full respect of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605. However, the Board will take the time needed to find an appropriate candidate who qualifies as a 'financial expert' and can guide our accounting and internal control process, as well as help further strengthen our credibility in the markets and move the Company to a higher level of professionalism and performance."
Chairman Yang added, "The Board has been very much saddened by Pat's untimely death. Pat joined our Board in 2005 when we had just become public in the US. We had great ambitions but were unknown to the markets and like many small Chinese companies had little credibility. For more than 4 years Pat provided the Company with invaluable advice, especially as Chairman of our Audit Committee. Today we are strong and highly respected and we believe that we will have an even brighter future.
