Singapore healthcare firm Parkway Holdings signed an agreement with United Eastern Medical Services on Monday to manage a new $200 million hospital in Abu Dhabi.

The agreement marks the first foray for Parkway Holdings into the Middle East. The hospital, Danat Al Emarat, will have 170 beds when it opens, with an expected total capacity of 300 beds.

The deal comes a week after the Singapore firm's announcement to cut salaries and lay off 4 percent of its staff in a bid to rein in costs.

'It's just to be prudent and pro-active,' said Lim Cheok Peng, Group president and managing director of Parkway Holdings, at a briefing, referring to the cuts. 'We have to be cautious.'

Parkway expects to complete the 350-bed Novena hospital in Singapore and a 500-bed joint-venture hospital in Mumbai in 2011, as planned, he added.-Reuters