NEC currently outsources a variety of software-related tasks to about 3,300 programmers at some 40 Chinese firms.

The Japanese company would raise the number of programmers by 10 percent to 3,600 by the end of the current fiscal year, while halving the number of contracted Chinese firms to about 20, an NEC spokesman said.

"We hope to complete the shift in the next three years," he said.

"The move is primarily aimed at lightening the cost burden related to human resources required for software development. Also we want to work with many highly skilled Chinese programmers as part of our long-term strategy," the spokesman said.

NEC expects to save roughly 15 billion yen (130 million dollars) in expenses this fiscal year, with the move to shift software development to China being a key component of the plan, the spokesman added.

SPACE.WIRE