(Updates prices and adds context on IPOs this year in...

(Updates prices and adds context on IPOs this year in paragraphs 3-7)

Australian chemical distributor Redox Ltd's (RDX) shares opened slightly below their issue price as the country's largest initial public offering (IPO) this year debuted on the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday.

The firm raised A$402 million ($267.29 million) by selling its shares at A$2.55. Shares slid 2.3% in the first 30 minutes of trading to A$2.49, underperforming the benchmark S&P/ASX200 .XJO index, which was up 0.25% at 0232 GMT on Monday.

The tepid performance will temper hopes that a strong performance by Redox could help revive Australia's flatlining equity capital markets. New share sales have fallen to a 14-year low, according to Refinitiv data.

There were $26.4 million worth of IPOs in Australia so far this year, not including Redox, down from $493.1 million at the same time last year, the data showed.

The 94% decline in Australian IPOs outpaced the 28.5% fall in issuance valuation that occurred across the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, in the first half.

The IPO gave Redox a A$1.3 billion market capitalisation and its shares were priced at the low end of the range flagged to investors when the bookbuild launched in early June.

Domestic airline Virgin Australia is expected to raise A$1 billion later this year, most likely in November, which would be the largest IPO in Australia in nearly three years. ($1 = 1.5040 Australian dollars)