Private equity giant Carlyle Group is on the hunt for more investments in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, betting that economic growth in those countries will remain shielded from eurozone debt problems and political turmoil in the wider Middle East, one of the firm's top regional executives said.

Carlyle, which listed its shares earlier this year in the US, last week concluded its sixth investment in the Middle East and North Africa, including Turkey, by buying a stake in Penti, a Turkish female clothing manufacturer and retailer. This latest deal makes the US buyout fund one of the most active players in a region where private equity activity has yet to fully recover from its pre-crisis heyday.