Central bank chief says Syria will remove two zeros in currency revamp
Since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011, the pound has plunged from 50 to about 10,000-11,000 against the greenback, and Syrians are forced to carry huge wads of banknotes even for basic needs like grocery shopping.
Stacks of Syrian pound banknotes are piled on top of each other at a currency trader's stall at a market in the city of Manbij, currently controlled by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction, in Syria's northern Aleppo province on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Aaref WATAD / AFP)
By AFP .
Journalists @New Vision
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Syria's central bank governor, Abdul Qadir al-Hasriya, said Monday that his country would change its currency by removing two zeros and printing new banknotes to replace those issued under ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011, the pound has plunged from 50 to about 10,000-11,000 against the greenback, and Syrians are forced to carry huge wads of banknotes even for basic needs like grocery shopping.
Removing two zeros "is a very important matter and... will not impact the currency's value", Hasriya said in an interview on state television.
He said the old banknotes would simply replace the new ones, avoiding further inflation in a country battered by soaring prices since the war and years of economic sanctions.
A view from the facility where printing counterfeit banknotes activities took place, belonging the ousted regime of Syria, seized by the Syrian Army in Hayek area in the countryside of Al-Qusayr district on the border with Lebanon in Syria on February 11, 2025. (Photo by Ebu Bekir Sakka / Anadolu via AFP)
"We will not increase the cash supply, but will replace the existing cash supply," he said.
"Changing the national currency is a sign of financial liberation after political liberation and the fall of the former regime," Hasriya added.
Improving the standing of the Syrian pound is among the greatest challenges for Syria's new authorities after ousting Assad, whose image and that of his father, Hafez, who ruled before him, appear on some denominations of banknotes.
The central bank intends to print six new denominations of banknotes, Hasriya said.
Several different sources would print the banknotes for logistical reasons and to meet demand, he added, without saying who would print them or where.
After the war erupted, Syria's banknotes were printed exclusively in Russia, a close ally of the Assad government.
Since December, Damascus has received at least one shipment of Russian-printed banknotes.