• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.275-287
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• 2023

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the issuance amount of subordinated bonds and firm value, aiming to determine how subordinated bonds are evaluated in the capital market. Design/methodology/approach - To achieve the research objective, this study empirically analyzes all samples of domestic listed insurers that have issued subordinated bonds. Through such empirical analysis, the study aims to confirm the value relevance of the recognized debt and examine how subordinated bonds are reflected in the firm valuation of insurers. Findings - The research finding indicates that subordinated bonds issued by insurers, despite being recognized as debt, did not show a significant relation with firm value. This result suggests a divergence from the typical characteristics of debt, reflecting the distinct evaluation of debt recognized through the issuance of subordinated bonds(subordinated debt) and general debt in the capital market. In this regard, additional investigation into the value relevance by categorizing debt into general debt and subordinated debt revealed a significant difference in the value relevance of the two types of debt. Research implications or Originality - These research findings indicate that the market evaluation of subordinated debt takes into consideration the economic attributes of the subordinated debt. Furthermore, this evaluation is interpreted to account for the regulatory consideration that recognizes subordinated debt as available capital for supervisory purpose.