Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the world's largest sovereign wealth fund which bought into Citigroup, said possible recession in the US offered opportunities to pick up assets cheaply.

"Recession is also a good period for investing," Georges Sudarskis, senior investment controller for private equity at Adia, told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Monday. "We can buy cheaply and we can benefit from this."

Adia, whose assets are estimated at $650 billion, agreed in November to buy $7.5 billion of equity units in Citigroup as the US bank struggled against billions of dollars in subprime mortgage-related writedowns.

"Sovereign wealth funds look at the long term," Sudarskis said in the UAE capital on the sidelines of an investment conference.

"We don't look for a quick buck." There are "good" opportunities in the United States and Europe, he said, without being more specific.

"We have invested all along the cycle and we expect that, over the long run, there will be averaging," Sudarskis said. "The deals done now are at prices that are more interesting."