A new report from Ernst & Young outlines the recent decline of global initial public offering (IPO) activity. In the first quarter of 2008, activity decelerated sharply in the wake of the credit crunch and sustained financial turmoil, according to the quarterly "Global IPO Update" from Ernst & Young. The number of IPOs fell by 60 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter.

Globally, $40.9 billion was raised in 236 IPOs in the first quarter of 2008, which was 60 percent less than the $102.1 billion raised in the previous quarter. This is in spite of the $19.6 billion raised by Visa Inc., the largest U.S. IPO ever, according to Ernst, whose report also adds that a record 83 companies around the world withdrew their IPOs in the first quarter of 2008, while 24 companies postponed their listings.

According to Ernst, three of the top 10 IPOs in the first quarter of 2008 were Chinese, and globally Australia produced the highest number of deals—30.

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