신종자본증권(Hybrid Instrument) 분류에 대한 정보적․측정적․경제적 파급효과 접근(금융부채 vs 지분상품)

In October 2012, Doosan Infracore issued a $ 500 million hybrid instrument in oversea markets. Hybrid instrument is considered a bond because it pays out a coupon regularly. But it is also a type of equity because it doesn't have a maturity date and it can be traded in the market. Hybrid instrument holds the characteristics of both debt and equity, while hybrid instrument can be classified as equity in the accounting standard. However, there has been the controversy over whether Doosan Infracore's hybrid instrument can be treated as equity in the statement of financial position. This study evaluates the classification of hybrid instrument from the information perspective, the measurement perspective, and the economic consequence perspective. From the information perspective, abnormal returns around the date of issuance of the hybrid instrument were negative, implying that the market viewed the issuance as bad news. From the measurement perspective, credit rating agencies decided to classify the hybrid instrument as liabilities regardless of how it is treated in accounting, indicating that treating the instrument as equity has no use. It appears that Doosan Infracore also had strong incentives to classify its hybrid instrument as equity in order not to violate debt covenants which specified the upper bound of debt ratios.