DUBAI, July 4 (Reuters) - Oman's state-owned logistics

firm Asyad Group is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of

its subsidiary Asyad Shipping Co by the end of the year and has

selected Jefferies Group and EFG Hermes as advisers, sources

familiar with the matter said.

Asyad Group, EFG Hermes and Jefferies

declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday about

the IPO plans. Details on the size of the offering were not

immediately available.

Asyad Shipping focuses on transporting liquefied natural gas

(LNG) to the international market, with a fleet that includes

very large crude carriers, product and chemical tankers, and dry

bulk carriers.

It lists Brazilian miner Vale and energy firms BP

and Shell among its customers and partners.

Asyad Group, owned by Oman's wealth fund, has more than $4

billion of assets, focuses on logistics, transportation, port

services, shipping and free zones.

Oman Investment Authority did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

Oman, a small non-OPEC producer, is following its neighbours

the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in pushing state-led

listing programmes in a bid to advance privatisation strategies.

That strategy, along with wide reforms that include fiscal

discipline, has helped Oman pay down debt and turn its large

fiscal deficit of recent years into a surplus since 2022.

The reforms and a shake-up of state entities are being

driven by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, who took the throne

in early 2020 after the death of Sultan Qaboos, who ruled for

nearly five decades.

Ratings agency Moody's raised Oman's credit rating from Ba2

to Ba1 in December, one level below investment grade, which was

attributed to improvements in debt affordability metrics.

Oman has been pitching to upgrade its classification to

'emerging market' from its frontier market status, which would

put it on the radar of global asset managers and bring in

foreign investment through passive funds.

Oman and Bahrain are the only countries within the six-

member Gulf Cooperation Council that are not classified as an

emerging market by index provider MSCI.

Reuters reported in 2021 that Asyad was weighing the sale of

a strategic stake in its subsidiary Oman Shipping, which was

re-branded as Asyad Shipping in 2022.

Asyad had asked banks to pitch for a mandate to help it

review a potential deal in which Asyad could divest up to 40% of

its ownership, Reuters reported at the time.