Syryia will issue Damascus (Reuters) -from the new banknotes papers, and remove two zeros from its currency in an attempt to restore the public’s confidence in the low pound, according to seven sources familiar with the matter and the documents reviewed by Reuters.
This step aims to strengthen the Syrian pound after its purchasing power collapsed to record its lowest levels after a 14 -year conflict that ended with President Bashar al -Assad’s prolongation in December.
In confirmation of this step, the ruler of the Syrian Central Bank, Abdel -Kasseri, said on Friday that the re -evaluation was a strategic pillar of financial and monetary reforms.
He told the Saudi Arabian broadcaster, “We have formed committees with public and private banks from the Central Bank to determine the requirements of changes,” and he said to the Saudi broadcaster owned by the Arab state, describing the new currency as “a necessity.”
He said that a timetable for introducing the new currency is still “in review.”
The Syrian pound has lost more than 99 % of its value since the outbreak of the war in 2011, with the exchange rate now at about 10,000 pounds to the US dollar, compared to 50 before the war.
Acute consumption has made daily transactions and increasingly transferring money.
Families usually pay the weekly groceries of black plastic bags carrying at least half a kilogram of 5,000 pounds, and they are currently the highest category.
In an attempt to alleviate transactions and improve monetary stability, the central bank in Syria informed private banks in mid -August that it intends to issue a new currency by “removing the zeros”, according to the Reuters document.
Reuters spoke to five commercial bankers, one source of the Central Bank and a Syrian economist who said the central bank had informed them that two zeros would be removed. They spoke on the condition that his identity is not disclosed to discuss a decision that has not been published yet.
The meetings on currency reform, Deputy Ruler of the Central Bank, Machichel Nazi, are chaired by commercial bankers who attended the meetings.
Nazir did not respond to a request for comment. Amal Al -Massari, head of the banking supervision department of the Central Bank, refused to comment. The Ministry of Finance did not respond to the request for comment.
It was not immediately clear whether the restoration of the pound would need legislative approval. Syria is scheduled to establish its first elections to establish a new legislative association in September.
Two bankers and another Syrian source told this issue to Reuters that Syria had agreed with the Russian state -owned money printing company to produce new notes.
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