Egypt-based steelmaker Ezz Steel has announced that it has successfully negotiated the deferral by one year of EGP 220 million ($31.5 million) principal payments originally scheduled in 2013, relating to its EGP 440 million ($63 million) bond maturing in 2014.
Ezz Steel stated that the deferral will support its direct reduced iron (DRI) plant investment in Suez which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014. According to the company, the deferral of the bond payments will enable Ezz Steel to direct free cash flows to the vertical integration project.