Leading German and Austrian firm Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Lober has become the latest international firm to set up in China, with the opening of an office in Shanghai.

The new office will work closely with the firm's existing Hong Kong practice, which opened in 1995.

Christian Bunsen, the Bruckhaus partner in charge of the Hong Kong and Shanghai offices, said that the Asian financial crisis, far from being a problem, had helped open up local markets to foreign investment.

"We have opened our Shanghai office at exactly the right time," Bunsen said. "To halt the flow of foreign investors withdrawing because of the economic situation, many countries in the region have made entry into the market easier."

Dr Burkhard Bastuck, a senior partner at the firm's Frankfurt office, said: "It has taken over two years to secure the license fo

The Hong Kong base was adequate in dealing with the South China area, but in terms of specific Chinese business it was crucial to secure the Shanghai office."

Bastuck said the firm intended to work on joint ventures and further development of investments.

He said there would also be some re-structuring of joint ventures and buying out of Chinese partners.

He added that a key benefit to Bruckhaus would be the increased ability to help its predominantly middle-market clientele in Asia.

A spokesman at Freshfields, which has an office in Beijing, said it was "logical" for Bruckhaus to open a Shanghai office because Germany was a "principal investor" in China.

Freshfields also sees the current Chinese economic downturn as a short-term trend.