New Syria banknotes to launch December 8

Syria will issue new banknotes, removing two zeros from its currency in an attempt to restore public confidence in the severely devalued pound.

1news.media informs, citing Reuters, the step is intended to strengthen the Syrian pound after its purchasing power collapsed to record lows following a 14-year conflict that ended with President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December.

The Syrian pound has lost more than 99 percent of its value since war erupted in 2011, with the exchange rate now at around 10,000 pounds to the US dollar, compared to 50 before the war.

The sharp depreciation has made daily transactions and money transfers increasingly difficult.

Families usually pay for weekly grocery runs from black plastic bags holding at least half a kilogram of 5,000-pound notes, currently the highest denomination.

Syria had agreed with Russian state-owned money printing firm Goznak to produce the new notes. The deal was finalized when a senior Syrian delegation visited Moscow in late July. Goznak, which also printed Syria’s currency during the Assad era.

Officials plan an information campaign in the coming weeks before the formal launch of the new notes on December 8, the one-year anniversary of Assad’s ouster.

A 12-month “coexistence period” will be allowed both old and new notes to circulate until December 8, 2026.