Details of the new Syrian currency
According to source at the Central Bank of Syria regarding the official announcement of the new Syrian currency, during a press conference scheduled to be held by the governor of the bank, Abdul Qader al Hasriya, on Wednesday.
According to the source, all denominations of the new coin will be paper and made of cotton, giving it higher durability and resistance to damage, in addition to containing advanced security technologies, as well as additional features that help people with visual impairments distinguish different categories.
The new edition includes nine cash denominations, which will be launched in two phases:
In the first phase, six intermediate denominations will be offered: 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 Syrian pounds.
Later, three more denominations will be added: 1 Syrian pound, 5 Syrian pounds, and 1000 Syrian pounds.
The source pointed out that the 1,000-pound denomination will enjoy very high levels of security, while the denominations of the 1,000-pound and 5-pound denominations will be available without being traded in the markets.
The new currency is set to coexist with the old one for three months, before the Central Bank of Syria becomes the only entity authorized to replace the old currency, in a five-year process.
The source pointed out that the date of the issuance wasn’t announced in advance, in order to avoid any possible manipulation in the exchange market, explaining that the postponement of the offering came in anticipation of achieving a degree of relative stability in the price of the pound.
A presidential decree will also be issued granting the Central Bank the powers to implement the swap process and specify its mechanisms, and only then will the deadline for the new currency to start injecting into the market will be announced.
The source confirmed that the central bank will work to expand the monetary block while maintaining the current supply level, which is estimated at about $3.9 billion, supported by a gold reserve of $3.3 billion.
The new issuance aims to address the liquidity crisis by eliminating zeros, without resorting to printing larger denominations, as part of a five-year reform plan that seeks to build a central bank that operates in accordance with international standards, while restoring effective ability to manage monetary policy.
The source pointed out that the debts of the Central Bank when it took office after the fall of the regime amounted to about $3.5 billion, while the size of the monetary block declined within one year from 37 to 19 trillion Syrian pounds.
