Dubai International Financial Centre's (DIFC) investment unit plans to cut its exposure to world markets to 30 per cent from 50 per cent to mainly shore up its domestic market, said a report.

DIFC Investments will mainly raise its exposure to Dubai 'when confidence returns to financial markets', London-based Meed magazine quoted a senior company source as saying.

'We feel we need to put some investment back into Dubai to help with the recovery,' the source said. The firm previously had split its investment portfolio roughly 50-50 between Middle East markets and the rest of the world.

'Now the firm will allocate roughly 70 per cent of its portfolio to the Middle East, with the remainder invested outside the region,' the source said.

DIFC Investments operates and manages a diverse portfolio, according to DIFC's website. Dubai assets will make up 49 per cent of the total assets, the source said without giving a comparative figure.

The company is unlikely to make new investment decisions until at least the second quarter of 2009, the source said.

'Right now prices are still falling everywhere, so it doesn't make sense to start investing yet, but our view is that by the second or third quarter things will start to plateau,' he said.-Reuters