Irish high technology companies should not be deterred from listing on the volatile US Nasdaq index in the light of recent market falls, according to Mr Richard Keatinge, managing director of Investment Bank of Ireland (IBI) Corporate Finance.

He believes the latest evidence of volatility in equity values will only affect the market for new equity issues in the short term.

Speaking at a briefing on Nasdaq held by the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants in Dublin, Mr Keatinge said: "The reason one hears a lot of talk about Nasdaq at present is because that market is served by an array of analysts who understand the potential value of companies in esoteric areas like software and it puts a higher value on them than the other markets."

He added that the uncertainty of recent weeks may lead some of these companies to reconsider their approach to flotation and take the traditional underwritten issue route - where the company is guaranteed to receive the money even if the investors fail to take up the stock - as it would at least provide certainty that the necessary money would be raised.

Mr Paul Byrne, chief financial officer with Irish-grown Trintech, added that software companies planning to target a global market would continue to be attracted to the Nasdaq. Trintech has just completed a private US placement and one of the key advantages to Trintech was choosing its own shareholders who have a vested interest in Trintech's electronic payment technology and provide financing at premium prices.

"Having such a shareholder base has historically been shown to raise demand on an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq, resulting in a higher IPO share price and helping to sustain the share price post-IPO, particularly in time of volatility."