Mubadala chief operating officer Waleed al-Muhairi said the ongoing credit crisis, triggered by massive subprime mortgage defaults in the United States, has sapped liquidity from companies, providing good investment opportunities for those with the cash to invest.

"These are the precise set of circumstances where you see great deals, great value opportunities, and wherever we see them, you will see us going into the market," Muhairi said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

A slew of sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Asia have bought up stakes in ailing western financial institutions in recent months.

Abu Dhabi is the United Arab Emirates' biggest oil producer, controlling over 85 percent of the UAE's oil output, and is reaping the benefit of crude oil trading near record prices.

The country's investment firm said it was not planning further buys in financial institutions, but could slightly raise its 7.5 percent stake in the Carlyle Group CYL.UL, which it bought for $1.35 billion last September.

"We're extremely happy with our 7.5 percent and whether that increases slightly over time remains to be seen, but I don't think we're ever going to be a major or controlling shareholder of Carlyle," Muhairi said.