Huobi Group Picks Singapore as Regional Headquarters

Huobi Group, the corporation behind crypto exchange Huobi Global, has picked Singapore to set up its regional headquarters, the company told CoinDesk.

• A Huobi representative told CoinDesk via WeChat that the headquarters will manage operations for Southeast Asia, but refused to comment on whether it will be the only region that will fall under the office’s purview. Bloomberg reported that the headquarters are for the entirety of Asia, quoting Huobi’s co-founder Du Jun.

• Since May, Huobi has moved much of its staff to the Singapore office after the Chinese government announced a crackdown on crypto trading. Du Jun had also relocated to the city-state, while the other co-founder, Leon Li, is still in China, the company said. Li is reportedly subject to border restrictions by the Chinese government.

• Huobi had said that it will expel all Chinese users by the end of the year to comply with Chinese regulations.

• The Singapore office will not serve any Singaporean customers, Huobi told CoinDesk. It will operate under Huobi International Pte., of which Li is a majority shareholder, Bloomberg reported. Atlas Value and venture capital firm Zhen Fund are also shareholders, according to the report.

• Huobi Tech, a Hong Kong company that is also founded by Li but is a separate legal entity, has set up a subsidiary, Huobi Singapore, to serve local users. The entity, Feu International, has applied for a digital token payment license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

• Huobi will set up another base in “France or the U.K. in 2023,” Jun reportedly told Bloomberg. A Huobi representative confirmed that the company is “considering setting up regional headquarters around the world as the business grows,” adding that they have not yet decided on any specific cities.

Read more: Ahead of Crackdown, Huobi Scrambled to Move Staff Out of China, Insiders Say