(Bloomberg) — Richard Teng, who joined Binance Singapore as its chief executive officer four months ago, has taken on a new role as the global entity’s head for the Middle East and North Africa, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The move came after Binance Global, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced an agreement with the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority to establish an international virtual asset ecosystem earlier this week.
Teng, who helmed the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority for six years, is key to helping the firm expand in Dubai, which Binance Holdings Ltd.’s 44-year-old Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao described as “pro-crypto.” The firm has held discussions with regulators in the United Arab Emirates about a potential headquarters in the Gulf nation, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
“Binance deploys its staff globally depending on its strategic needs,” a company spokesperson said in confirming the move. Asked whether the crypto outfit had chosen Dubai as its new headquarters, the spokesperson said, “We are continuing to work with a variety of jurisdictions, including Dubai, as we continue to evolve our global footprint.”
The day Binance announced the partnership plans with Dubai, Zhao tweeted a photo of himself dressed in a traditional Middle Eastern outfit.
Before the Abu Dhabi role, Teng spent seven years as Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s chief regulatory officer, and another 13 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In August, the Singaporean joined Binance to aid its efforts in his home city-state, where speculation was mounting that the firm was working to set up its first global headquarters after its 2017 inception in China.
Earlier this month, Binance’s Singapore entity withdrew its application to offer cryptocurrency services locally, citing “strategic, commercial and developmental considerations globally” for the dropout.
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