Abu Dhabi has hired Richard Teng, the chief regulatory officer of Singapore Exchange, to head up its new financial centre regulatory authority, the Financial Times reported.

Teng has been named by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to manage the development and administration of a regulatory framework to govern the centre.

The ADGM launch of ADGM comes as part of the UAE capital’s plan to diversify its economy away from oil and gas. It is worth noting that the new body will require an independent regulator and courts so that market participants can operate outside the UAE’s onshore regulatory environment overseen by the Central Bank of the UAE.