Trace International, the global anti-bribery business association that works with multi-national companies to enhance transparency and compliance in business, has announced the opening of its new office in Dubai.

The new establishment at the Dubai Silicon Oasis significantly expands Trace's reach in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, where the demand for its tools and services have been growing rapidly.

"The Dubai office is a notable step for Trace and for our compliance community," remarked Alexandra Wrage, its president and founder.

"As the penalties and international awareness of compliance issues have increased, we've seen a heightened demand for our services.  In particular, our new "Portable Due Diligence" options have been very popular in this region. This move enables us to serve better the business community in this region," he noted.

The Dubai unit will be headed by Randa Almomani, a well-respected regional veteran of the compliance and corporate governance industry.

It will specialize in comprehensive compliance, including risk analysis, consulting, due diligence and training, said Almomani, who will be adding compliance experts and due diligence analysts in the coming months.

"This office will work seamlessly with our US headquarters to provide the innovative, tailored due diligence and compliance solutions our members and clients have come to expect from Trace," she added.

Trace member companies are enthusiastic about the opening of the Dubai office.

Angela Stonier Jensen, the legal & compliance counsel of Novo Nordisk Pharma Gulf for Africa and India said, "Trace demonstrates clearly its commitment to all member companies by recognising and acting upon the great potential of the Middle East, Asia and Africa."

"Through its proximity to our Novo Nordisk Dubai Healthcare City office, Trace experts have already added value to our local organisation through advice and a new collaboration to modernise third party due diligence processes, safeguarding an important and high-risk part of our value chain - distributing our medicines and devices."

Bapsy Dastur, the general counsel, head, Legal & Integrity IMA of ABB said the move "strengthens the local capabilities of Trace which will help us greatly in our business operations."

Founded in 2001, Trace International is now one of the world's leading non-profit organizations dedicated to anti-bribery compliance with hundreds of corporate members and thousands of intermediary members around the world.

It is an independent compliance firm and leading provider of professional due diligence and consulting services to Fortune 1000 companies.-TradeArabia News Service