自從2018 年2 月紐約交易所(NYSE)修改其直接上市相關規則，且於同年3月Spotify 以直接上市的方式闖入紐約證券交易所，成為一家公開上市公司後，直接上市(Direct listing)這個制度重新成為美國資本市場的焦點。所謂的直接上市，是指公司並不需要於上市過程中發行新股，而可以直接將目前現存的老股在次級市場進行登記上市，這對短期無資金募集需求，但又希望可以提升既有股東持股流動性的公司無疑是一大福音。本文主要探討直接上市(Direct listing)與初次公開發行(Initial public offering)對投資人的影響異同，以及直接上市是否有辦法解決部分初次公開發行長期面臨的問題。例如：初次公開發行上市流程冗長、需負擔高昂承銷費用以及既有股東面臨閉鎖期等問題。此外本研究也進一步驗證市場對直接上市的擔憂，如：缺少承銷商擔任守門人、缺少承銷商穩定股價、無新股發行及發行股數不確定導致成交量低迷、直接上市公司營運較差使投資人缺乏保護等問題是否真的存在。

Since February 2018, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) revised its relevant rules for direct listing, and in March of the same year, Spotify broke into NYSE by direct listing and became a public listing company. Direct listing system has become focus of US capital market again. The so-called direct listing means that company does not need to issue new shares during listing process, but can directly register and list the existing shares in secondary market. It’s a great way to list for the company which doesn’t have short-term fund needed, but hopes to improve existing shareholders’ liquidity. This article focuses on the similarities and differences in the impact of direct listing and initial public offering on investors, and whether direct listing can solve some of the long-standing problems faced by initial public offerings. For examples, lengthy IPO listing processes, high underwriting fees, and lock-up periods for existing shareholders. In addition, this study further verifies the market’s concerns about direct listing such as, lack of underwriters to act as gatekeepers, lack of underwriters to stabilize stock prices, lack of new shares to issue and uncertainty about number of shares to be issued, resulting in sluggish trading volume, poor operation of direct listing companies, which may harm investors.

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