UPDATE 1-INTERVIEW-Satyam eyes more deals in Asia, Middle East

* expects to close a handful of deals over next 3-4 months

* contracts valued at $10-$30 mln in Middle East, Australia

* to add 300-400 new jobs in Malaysia, China by June 2009 (Adds details)

By Jennifer Tan

SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - Satyam Computers Services Ltd (SATY.BO), India's No. 4 software services exporter, expects to clinch several deals in Asia and the Middle East over the next three months, and plans to add more engineers in Malaysia and China.

"The outlook for deal closures is very positive in the Middle East and positive in Australia," Virender Aggarwal, the director for Asia Pacific, Middle East, India and Africa, told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

"We are pursuing one deal in Singapore, two in Australia, two to three in India and five to six in the Middle East. We expect to close a handful of these deals over the next three to four months," he added.

Aggarwal said record-high fuel prices had sparked an increase in government and corporate spending in the Middle East.

"The high oil prices have sped up the decision-making process -- we're seeing phenomenal momentum in the Middle East right now."

The value of Satyam's potential contracts in the Middle East range from $10 million to $20 million, while those in Australia are above $30 million, he added.

Satyam SAY.N, which specialises in business software and offers back-office outsourcing services, also plans to hire more software development engineers in Malaysia and China.

Aggarwal said that by June 2009, the company plans to add 300 engineers in Malaysia, and another 300-400 engineers in China.

Over the next three years, it plans to add 1,500 engineering jobs in Malaysia, bringing the total headcount to 2,000. In China, it plans to increase 1,800 jobs, raising the total to 2,500.

The fastest-growing industries were healthcare, retail, energy and utilities, he added. India's large pool of competent staff has helped outsourcers win deals from overseas firms, but growing evidence of a U.S. recession is a concern for the $64 billion software sector, which gets more than half its revenue from the world's largest economy.

Satyam's customers include General Electric (GE.N), Nestle (NESN.VX) and Qantas Airways (QAN.AX). Last month, the company said its revenue in 2008/09 would grow 23.9-25.9 percent under Indian accounting rules, slower than 30.7 percent growth seen last year but higher than a 22-24 percent rise expected by some analysts.

Earlier this week, it maintained its earnings forecast for the current quarter and the full year to March despite a weaker rupee.

The rupee fell to 43.21 against the U.S. dollar last week, a level it last traded in early April 2007, raising hopes export-driven software services companies will raise their earnings guidance for the year.

Every 1 percent fall in the rupee boosts Satyam's operating margins by 30 basis points but the company maintained its forecast of a drop of about 50 basis points in its margins in 2008/09 mainly due to wage increases.

Satyam's Chief Financial Officer Vadlamani Srinivas said the company remains focused on small acquisitions as they were easier to integrate.

"We keep scanning the horizon on a continual basis. We have about 6-10 targets at any one time, but we're not in a tearing hurry," he added.

"We've been following a string-of-pearls approach over the last couple of years, rather than going after a Big-Bang acquisition, and we want to continue with this strategy."

Last month, the company announced it had closed two all-cash acquisition deals -- buying Belgium-based S&V Management Consultants for $35.5 million, and construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc's (CAT.N) market research and customer analytics operations for $60 million. (Editing by Editing By Ovais Subhani)