DUBAI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. investment bank Moelis (MC.N) and Dubai lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) have been hired to advise on the initial public offering (IPO) of Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), sources familiar with the matter said. The Dubai government said on Tuesday it was planning a stock market flotation of the utility, among 10 state-backed companies to be listed as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse. read more DEWA and the Dubai Media Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Moelis and Emirates NBD declined to comment. The listing plans are aimed at making Dubai a more competitive market against bigger bourses in the region, such as those in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Abu Dhabi, that are seeing larger listings and strong liquidity. A spate of de-listings and an absence of big initial public offerings have put Dubai"s stock market under pressure, raising questions over the future of one of the Gulf"s major exchanges, launched two decades ago. Dewa had 884,404 water customers and 990,258 electricity customers as of the end of 2020, according to company data. DEWA has assets of nearly 200 billion dirhams ($54.45 billion) and projects with a combined value of around 86 billion dirhams, Chief Executive Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said in a statement on Tuesday. ($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham) Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Jan Harvey, Alexandra Hudson and Kim Coghill