When outsourcing turns in

While China remains to be a mature outsourcing partner, many Hong Kong firms tend to expand their scope of China strategy in a different approach, said Au Yeung.

"Enterprises on a smaller scale outsource the fundamental work to Chinese outsourcing providers," he said. "But larger enterprises simply set up their own back-end IT shop in China to take full advantage of the vast supply of talent at a lower price."

He noted Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Citibank and State Street Bank are a few of the enterprises doing insourcing in China.

"But as outsourcing becoming more mature, companies are also expanding their outsourcing spectrum to include more strategic work," he added. "Chinese providers have great potential in offering more strategic roles in outsourcing, particularly with the commercialization of nascent technologies."