Qatar’s public transport operator Mowasalat is in early talks with banks about floating its shares on the Qatar Exchange early next year in what would be the first initial public offering (IPO) in the country since developer Mazaya Qatar went public early last year, two people familiar with the matter said yesterday. “A lot of banks are looking at it,” said one person familiar with the transport group’s plans. Another person with knowledge of the situation said banks were currently bidding to advise the company on its planned float and the tendering process closes at the end of next month. No one at Mowasalat, which also runs limousine, school and public bus services, was immediately available to comment. One analyst said the Qatari government is keen to expand its bourse by encouraging more companies to list. “The general approach by the government is to enlarge the stock market and add more listed companies,” said Thamer Jadallah, head of investments at the Almana Group in Doha. “It’s also a new sector - we don’t have a transport sector [on the Qatar Exchange].” Mowasalat is 100% by owned the government. As of late August last year, the group employed 6,500 staff and has a fleet of 400 limousines and 2500 buses and taxis, according to Zawya.com data. In January 2010 real estate developer Mazaya Qatar floated its shares but failed to woo investors and was only 4% subscribed in the first week, the company said at the time. Qatar Airways is planning a dual-listing IPO in London and on the local Doha bourse in 2013 or 2014, its chief executive officer has said.