July 24 (Bloomberg) — Brazilian companies are canceling initial public offerings at the second-highest rate among the biggest emerging markets as slowing economic growth makes the country's benchmark stock index the worst performer this year.

 Three IPOs in Brazil were scrapped this year, while seven were announced, compared with zero withdrawals in China and less than a third of offerings this year in India, data compiled by Bloomberg show. One initial share sale was announced in Russia as well as one cancelation. Brazilian companies raised a combined 3.88 billion reais ($1.9 billion) in 2012 through IPOs, down 40 percent from the same period a year ago.

Louis Dreyfus Holding BV's Biosev SA sugar-processing unit became the latest company to scrap its initial share sale when it canceled a 1.14 billion-real offering last week because of "market uncertainties." The Bovespa stock gauge has dropped 22 percent from this year's high on March 13 as Europe's debt crisis worsened, prices for commodity exports fell and analysts cut their economic growth forecasts to the weakest since 2009.