Dubai International Capital (DIC), the private equity arm of Dubai Holding, plans to open an office in New York in the next 18-24 months.

The company is also looking at establishing an office in Asia. Its only existing overseas office is in London.

DIC is looking at investing in more US publicly-listed companies, despite the drop in share price of its only current US-listed investment, hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group. DIC bought a 9.9 per cent stake in the fund in October for $1.25bn, at $32 a share, just prior to the hedge fund’s initial public offering. The shares are now trading at about $22.

DIC has no plans to sell its stake in the fund, according to a company spokeswoman. “All our investments are for the long term,” she says. “The point of setting up the office will be to be closer to the market.”