Zimbabwe begins circulation of new ZiG currency
The newly introduced Zimbabwean gold-backed currency has been printed and is in circulation.
The Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) which was launched on April 5 aims to tackle the currency crisis in the country. The previous currency, the Zimbabwe dollar came under sustained pressure and depreciation, making it one of the world’s worst-performing currencies.
The Zim dollar lost over 70% of its value on the official market and depreciated on the black market.
The new currency, the Zig, will be backed by gold reserves. The highest denomination of ZiG is the 200 ZiG note which translates to $15.
According to local media Mwanzo TV, Individuals will be allowed to withdraw a maximum of ZiG 3,000 and companies ZiG 30,000 per week with no limits on cash withdrawals for the parliament, courts, and international organizations.
The ZiG is the sixth currency Zimbabwe has used since the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009.
There are concerns about how well this new currency can perform against the US dollar. Meanwhile, Mwanzo TV reports that a digital version of the currency has lost a quarter of its value against the US dollar on the black market.
