DUBAI, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Dubai International Capital (DIC) said on Saturday the financial crisis would offer opportunities in the United States, Europe and emerging markets but that it was in no hurry to buy until the market bottomed out.

DIC, which is owned by the ruler of Dubai and controls around $13 billion in assets, is one of the group of Gulf Arab funds and investment vehicles to have lost billions in the financial crisis through stakes in top Wall Street firms.

They have also faced growing demands from Western firms and governments to pour more cash into ailing Western companies. Chief Executive Sameer al-Ansari said DIC would be cautious on jumping into new deals in 2009.

"We've done very little in 2008 ... we will see the right opportunities, maybe not in 2009, maybe in 2010 because we expect next year to get even worse," he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dubai.

"There will be fantastic opportunities in the next 12 to 18 months ... and that is not exclusive to Europe and North America. There will be fantastic opportunities in Russia, India, China and this region."

Gulf Arab firms have said that growth and profits could be hit as the global financial crisis spreads but that robust economic growth and sufficient liquidity would help them to weather the storm better than Western counterparts.

Ansari said he would not be surprised if there were consolidations in some sectors in Dubai as the credit crunch sinks in but said he was not privy to any specific discussions.

He said in May that the firm, which is also an investor in Sony (6758.T: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ) and EADS (EAD.PA: Quote , Profile , Research , Stock Buzz ), was seeking to double its assets in two years.

Mergers have been sidelined in the Gulf as an oil-fuelled boom allowed companies to grow rapidly, but the tightening credit situation has increased the impetus for consolidation in a number of sectors including banking and real estate as firms look to bolster their balance sheets.

Ansari also said Dubai's debt was now around $70 billion while the debt for the United Arab Emirates as a whole was around $170 billion and that the debt situation "was overplayed and certainly made out to be much worse than it is."

The government does not publish official figures on the debt and analysts have raised concerns over the level of debt held by Dubai and government-linked firms. Some suggest it could turn to its oil-exporting neighbours for investment.

"It's not a question of them (Gulf investors) coming to bail out Dubai ... they will invest in Dubai if they see opportunities coming up," he said of trade hub that is one of seven emirates comprising the UAE federation.

"When I look at that debt profile ... it's very manageable," he said, adding that Gulf investors had a vested interest in the emirate's success, because they had already invested in it... Everyone in the region has invested in Dubai and has benefited from Dubai's success."

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