Gabon creditor may settle dispute soon, unlock bond coupon

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - South African conglomerate Aveng and its banker Nedbank have agreed to a Gabon government proposal to settle a legal dispute that has delayed a Eurobond coupon payment from the West African country for over a week, a Nedbank executive said on Wednesday.

Gabon's government earlier told Reuters that a $32 million coupon payment on its $1 billion Eurobond had been delayed because funds had been frozen by a court order obtained by a third-party creditor.

Nedbank confirmed that its client Aveng was the creditor in question.

"The Gabonese government has come with a proposal to resolve the matter and we have accepted the terms of their proposal. However certain payments need to be made before we lift the freezing order," Brian Kennedy, group managing executive for Nedbank told Reuters from South Africa.

"We are agreeable to the proposal and we are waiting for the implementation thereof," Kennedy said, adding that lifting the court order and unfreezing the cash could be a "matter of hours."

The coupon was due on June 12 and Gabon has a 10-day grace period before it is considered to be in default.

Kennedy said the claim on Gabon dated back to 2001 and related to the construction of housing units. He declined to say how much was owed.