Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips, plans to issue its first overseas bonds since 1997 to expand production of processors used in mobile devices including Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

The company has sent requests for proposals to banks to borrow as much as $1 billion to expand production capacity at its factory in Austin, Texas, James Chung, a Seoul-based spokesman for Samsung, said by telephone January 16, confirming a report in the Korea Economic Daily. The bonds will be issued by Samsung’s U.S. unit and may have maturities of five years, Chung said.

Samsung joins cash-rich technology companies including Google Inc. in entering the bond market as borrowing costs fall, making it cheaper for the company to raise funds to meet surging smartphone demand. Suwon-based Samsung’s credit rating, on par with that for South Korea, suggests strong demand for its bonds, said Louis Shin of Woori Investment & Securities Co.

“Samsung will probably receive very positive feedback from global investors,” Shin, a credit analyst at Woori Investment in Seoul, said by telephone. “Investors are thirsty for companies with good credit,” Bloomberg reported.