Richard Teng now Binance's Mena head after short-lived stint as Singapore CEO
BINANCE'S former Singapore chief executive officer (CEO) Richard Teng is now regional head of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) for the global crypto bourse.
Teng, who was appointed Binance's Singapore CEO just in August, updated his LinkedIn profile late evening on Thursday (Dec 23) to reflect the new designation. He has not responded to The Business Times' queries on the new appointment.
This comes almost 2 weeks after Binance's Singapore affiliate announced that it will withdraw its application to be licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and wind up its digital exchange in the city state. All accounts on Binance.sg will be closed by Feb 13.
Earlier this week, Binance said it has signed a deal with Dubai World Trade Centre, which is looking to set up an international virtual asset ecosystem. As part of the deal, Binance will share its "experience in collaborating with global regulators to aid the development of progressive virtual asset regulations".
Teng is understood to have travelled to Dubai recently. He is no stranger to the Mena region, having served 6 years as chief executive of international financial centre Abu Dhabi Global Market from March 2015 to March 2021.
Prior to that, Teng was chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange; and before that, director for corporate finance at the MAS.
Before moving to Binance, Teng was also briefly chairman of Hg Exchange, or HGX, which Binance recently took an 18 per cent stake in. The private securities exchange was recently granted a recognised market operator licence from MAS. This acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval.
Binance's global CEO Zhao Changpeng, often known as CZ, had recently bought a home in Dubai and met with key officials in the blockchain and virtual assets industry. Zhao has been vocal about his fondness for the city's pro-crypto stance.
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