South Korea's SM Line has said it may attempt to resurrect its plans for an initial public offering in March if market conditions improve.
Last week, the shipowner became the latest South Korean company to drop plans to go public due to weak levels of interest from institutional investors.
According to the Korea Exchange six companies have cancelled their IPO plans over the past month, according to the Korea Herald.
Until recently, South Korea had been one of the hottest markets for IPOs in Asia with $10bn raised in the third quarter alone thanks to blockbuster flotations from the likes of Hyundai Heavy Industries and tech companies.
In late September, HHI raised $1bn from an IPO, much of which will go towards funding investments in new technology to build greener vessels.
Shares in the world's largest shipbuilder surged 86% on their first day of trading on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index.
But a weaker stock market and government concerns over frothy IPO valuations have prompted a growing number of companies to withdraw their plans to go public.
SM Line was hoping to raise up to KRW 846bn ($710m) from to help expand its fleet, invest in containers and explore new business opportunities.
The mid-size containership owner was offering 33.8m shares, including 16.9m new shares, at between KRW 18,000 and KRW 25,000 per share.
But demand from institutional investors fell short of its expectations and the company withdrew its application.
"In the book-building process we found it difficult to receive a proper valuation," the company said in a regulatory filing. "Taking various conditions into account, we agreed with our IPO lead manager to withdraw the plan."
South Korean media also reported that institutional investors also were cautious about the shipping industry's outlook and how much freight rates would continue to rise.
If it had listed, SM Line would have become the first South Korean shipping company to go public since smaller rival KSS Line did so in 2007.
SM Line's withdrawal of its IPO also raises questions about the prospects for other shipping IPOs in South Korea and the fundraising plans of Samsung Heavy Industries.
H-Line Shipping, owned by local private equity fund Hahn and Co, was at one stage said to be considering a second attempt at an IPO after its first attempt in 2018 fell through due to sluggish markets.
