* Appetite for more IPOs seen in 2010

* 2009 activity up from 2008, but still low

TORONTO, Jan 5 - There is appetite for initial public offerings in Canada, but activity remained slow as 2009 drew to a close, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed on Tuesday.

The annual survey showed that 2009 ended with just 28 IPOs on Canadian exchanges, with a total value of about C$1.8 billion ($1.7 billion).

That was up from the C$682 million raised through 57 IPOs in all of 2008, but well short of the record levels of earlier in the decade.

There wasn't an abundance of activity during the year, but the larger issues certainly tested the market's appetite for new equity, Ross Sinclair, head of PwC's IncomeTrust and IPO Services, said in a statement.

The appetite is there. The market is ready for new issues; the new issues just aren't ready for the market yet.

A single C$300 million IPO in the fourth quarter brought the total number of IPOs on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2009 to four. Their total value was C$1.75 billion, up from C$547 million generated by 10 issues on the exchange in 2008.

The smaller-cap TSX Venture Exchange had 20 IPOs in 2009, including 12 in the final three months of the year, the survey showed. Fourth-quarter activity contributed less than C$52 million to the year's total of C$69 million.

After two years of market turmoil and diminished activity, Sinclair said the key ingredients are in place for a meaningful recovery in 2010.

An IPO market of C$1.8 billion is not what we would expect for Canada at this stage of a recovery. With the fundamentals falling into place, an annual IPO market of C$4 billion is not out of the question, he said.

The volume of secondary equity offerings as 'bought deals' speaks to investor confidence. Rising valuations, improved liquidity, more stable markets, better pricing and credit spreads will also help.

($1=$1.04 Canadian) (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; editing by Peter Galloway)

Canada Investment