MUMBAI: The shareholders of Zee Telefilms have approved the issue of $100 million foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The shareholders' nod came in yesterday's extra ordinary general meeting (EGM) at ISKON Auditorium, Juhu in Mumbai. The bonds can be redeemed for cash or converted to equity five years after the issue.

The funds are being sought, among other reasons, for reducing Zee group's overall debt burden. While Zee Telefilms company secretary Vikas Gupta affirmed that the cost of present debt is 9.5 per cent, he refrained from divulging the cost advantage of refinancing the media major's high cost debts through the FCCB route.