The cheapest long-term borrowing costs on record are enticing companies into the bond market and allowing them to lock in rates for up to 100 years.

“My treasurer tells me, 'Always borrow when you can, not when you have to,'” said Simon Henry, chief financial officer at Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Global borrowers from Shell in The Hague to Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc. raised a record $368 billion this year from bonds maturing in 10 years or more, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average yield companies pay to raise long-dated debt worldwide fell 59 basis points this year to 4.4 percent, approaching the low of 4.1 percent reached in 2013, Bank of America Merrill Lynch data show.

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