Infosys Technologies, which faced legal barriers in entering China, said on Thursday that it was hopeful of setting up a branch office in Shanghai soon.

"We have worked with the Chinese government in trying to create a legal framework for setting up a branch in China. In executing the law, it takes more time and neither of us anticipated it. We hope to open our office soon," Infosys board member Srinath Batni told reporters in Bangalore.

Infosys' director and chief financial officer T V Mohandas Pai said the legal framework for a "branch set-up" was non-existent in China and the company had to work with the Chinese government in framing the laws.

He said though Chinese premier Zhu Rongji gave permission to open office in Shanghai, the company did not anticipate the hurdles.

Zhu approved Infosys's Shanghai plan during his visit to the Infosys campus in January 2002.

Infosys chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy had last month blamed Chinese red tape for the delay.