Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC) is considering acquiring distressed US assets that are “very attractive vis-à-vis other G7 assets”, the state-owned group's chief executive has said.

ADIC, which has some $2 billion in assets, will take a cautious approach to investing in Europe where regulators are not as active as in the United States in containing the crisis, he said.

He added: “The authorities in the US are taking the toxic assets off balance sheets of banks and transferring them to the government and taxpayers, so we are left with the good stuff and you have to admit that the dollar has absorbed negative news in a short period very well.”

Abu Dhabi, which ranks as the world's fifth largest oil exporter, has been using petrodollars to diversify its economy and invest abroad.

Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, headed by a board member of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), has recently bought English football club Manchester City. In November, ADIA, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, sealed a deal to buy a $7.5 billion (£4 billion) stake in US bank Citigroup.

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Company's acquisitions also include a 5 per cent stake in Italian sports car maker Ferrari.