300 was the number told by management when I was there. If not true I stand corrected but anyway, the point is that in Asia the intentions of the companies usually are to produce their own man power hence opportunities to expats are rather scarce. Unless you marry a local and take a local passport.
The story I heard was that they were trying to push the MPL's on the left seat with 1.500 hours on type. Glad that that didn't materialize at the end for the sake of the passengers, no offence implied.
Not meaning to hijack the thread but, out of curiosity, how they expect to be taken in the Gulf with an MPL only? GCC airlines are looking for ATPL, either full or frozen.