California, USA (BBN)- Technology giant Apple is expected to raise at least $5bn (£3.3bn) by issuing bonds on Monday.
Some of the funds raised will be used for Apple's share buy back programme. The California-based company plans to return more than $130bn to shareholders by the end of this year, reports BBC.
The move comes despite the company sitting on a cash pile of $178bn.
Apple will raise less than half the $12bn generated in April 2014 when it was last active in the US bond market.
A year earlier it raised $17bn.
Some of the bonds will mature in five years, while others will not do so for another three decades, reports suggest.
Analysts have said that Apple could increase the amount it returns to its investors to as much as $200bn over the next three years.
Even when Apple's $35bn of debt is taken into account, it still has $142bn in cash.
Almost 90% of the cash is held outside the US, and it would have to pay the top corporate tax rate of 35% if it returned the money from abroad, which is why it is borrowing the money instead.
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Apple is rated by Moody's as Aa1, the second-highest available, and bonds from companies with high credit ratings are popular with investors.
Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are the banks managing the capital-raising.
Last week, Apple reported a record quarterly profit for a public company of $18bn for the three months to 31 December, with revenue up almost 30% to $74.6bn after the new iPhone 6 proved a huge hit with consumers globally.
Shares in Apple rose 0.9% to $118.17 in morning trading in New York on Monday, valuing the company at almost $684bn.
BBN/SK/AD-3Feb15-11:00am (BST)