In the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) worldwide plunged by 37 percent year-on-year to 321, according to a study published by the consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) on Monday.

Global IPO issue volumes fell by 51 percent to 54 billion U.S. dollars, ending the positive trend of the previous quarters and the momentum from the record IPO year 2021, EY said.

In January, the global issuance volume still was at its highest level in 21 years at 32 billion U.S. dollars. In February and March, however, the number of IPOs slumped worldwide in "view of tightening geopolitical tensions."

The Ukraine crisis and the resulting "massive increase in political and economic uncertainty meant that many companies postponed their IPO plans for the first quarter for the time being," said Martin Steinbach, partner and head of IPO and listing services at EY.

The sharpest decline was registered in the United States. Compared with Q1 of the previous year, the number of IPOs fell from 100 to 25, and the issue volume shrank by 94 percent to just over two billion U.S. dollars, according to the study.

The number of IPOs in Europe almost halved from 89 to 47, and the issue volume fell from 26 to just under three billion U.S. dollars, according to the EY study.

The Chinese market was least affected as 97 companies ventured to go public in Q1, 28 percent less than in the same period last year. By contrast, the volume of issues rose slightly by 2 percent to 30 billion U.S. dollars, the study found.

The world's largest IPO in Q1 took place in South Korea. Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution raised 10.7 billion U.S. dollars in January, according to the study.

The second largest IPO was launched by Chinese mobile communications provider China Mobile, which raised 8.2 billion U.S. dollars. The IPO of Chinese solar module manufacturer Jinko Solar had an issue volume of 1.6 billion U.S. dollars.

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