Speaking at a press briefing in HCMC on Thursday, Long said 27 Malaysian IT firms would have business sessions with 30 local partners over business opportunities in the fields of e-government, telecom and mobile phone applications next Thursday. The Malaysian side will also support Vietnamese enterprises keen on setting up shop in their country. Malaysia has a strong IT infrastructure while Vietnam holds IT human resource potential, said Ahmad Shanizam Ab.Ghani, the trade commissioner of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation in HCMC. The two countries will team up to tap each other’s market and those in ASEAN and the Middle East because Malaysia is a gateway for Vietnam to easily penetrate into Middle East countries, he said. By end-February, Malaysia had pledged around US$9 billion in investments in Vietnam, with IT accounting for a small US$7.9 million.