The conference is organized by research analyst Frost and Sullivan and is supported by local industry group Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Representatives form Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corp. (MDEC) will attend the conference, according to BPAP chief executive Oscar Sanez.

?They will be here to discuss case models involving captive outsourcing players,? Sanez told INQUIRER.net via phone. Captive players refer to companies that have set up their own outsourcing facilities offshore.

Malaysia is regarded by analysts as an emerging market for business process outsourcing (BPO) and thus, competing with the Philippines.

According to Outsourcing Malaysia, an industry consortium representing the government and private sector, the local shared services outsourcing (or SSO) industry in Malaysia is worth around $300 million, growing 30 percent annually.

This is driven by multinational companies like Shell, DHL and HSBC that have set up their own outsourcing facilities in Malaysia. By 2012, Outsourcing Malaysia expects the industry to balloon to $2 billion and employ 300,000 people.

On the other hand, the Philippines remains a strong player in the third-party outsourcing space but has likewise attracted investments from captive players like HSBC, Deutsche Telekom and Dell.