Japan’s Nishimura & Asahi is set to open a representative office in Shanghai after receiving a licence from the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China.

The new office, Nishimura & Asahi’s second in China, will be staffed by finance partner Toshihiro Maeda and counsel Takashi Nomura, who specialises in Chinese IP and M&A.

“Our expansion into Shanghai, a city expected to experience further economic growth due to the establishment of the Pilot Free-Trade Zone, will reinforce our teams in Tokyo and Beijing in providing quality legal services in the areas of finance and various service industries,” said the firm in a statement.

Nishimura & Asahi currently has offices in Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Singapore, Bangkok and Yangon to go with its Japanese branches in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

Kanishk Verghese is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.