BRISBANE, May 29 Asia Pulse - Market volatility has claimed another planned listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) with specialist library software provider Softlink International Ltd withdrawing its initial public offer (IPO) Friday.

The company said it had already raised the bulk of the $A10 million ($US5.68 million) being sought from investors but was not prepared to see the company's shares hit the boards at a discount.

The move follows the cancellation earlier this week of two larger floats.

The $A1.7 billion ($US964.75 million) float of Vodafone Pacific Pty Ltd was abandoned yesterday.

The company linked the withdrawal to the slump in share prices of telecommunications companies around the world.

United States-based ComVergent Telecommunications Ltd pulled its $A350 million ($US198.62 million) float on Wednesday.

Also in the last few weeks Nomad Telecommunications' has revised its $A130 million ($US73.78 million) offering and Mobile Communications abandoned its $A30 million ($US17.02 million) float.

Softlink, which was scheduled to close its offer of 10 million shares at $1 each on June 1, said continued market volatility made a listing an untenable proposition in the current climate.

Softlink executive director Bob Dunne said based on market uncertainty and the performance of recent listings it was virtually impossible for any technology company, even those with strong earnings, to list at a price reflecting their true value.

"Our board was not prepared to run the prospect of having our new shareholders losing immediate value from their investment because of external influences beyond our control," he said.

Softlink, whose specialist library automation software is installed in over 8,300 sites in 85 countries, was last year named Australia's Exporter of the Year for Information Industries.

The offer's underwriter Johnson Taylor Corporate will notify all subscribers to the offer and arrange refund of application monies in the near future.