Zimbabwe Central Bank: Launch of Bond Notes 'on track'

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said it is “well on track” to unveil the bond notes in October, despite public resistance.





RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya talks to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa

Last week, central bank deputy governor Kupukile Mlambo told the Daily News that despite the public’s concerns, the RBZ was geared to introduce the notes.

“October is still the introduction date… the process is not just printing, it also involves design, so we are well on track,” he said.

He, however, declined to indicate the current stage of the notes’ production.

“I cannot comment on that, the only person who can give you that information is the governor himself,” Mlambo said.

However, RBZ sources yesterday said the bank had received several designs, with the final templates expected to be submitted to the German printers by mid-August.

“As you may already know, the introduction date is October. As of now, designs have been received and they will be delivered to the printer by mid-month,” the source said.

The notes — which will serve as a five percent bonus incentive to exporters — will be introduced to sustain and safeguard the multi-currency system in Zimbabwe, amid public confusion over how the system will function after their introduction.

Vouchers for exporters to redeem the bond notes will soon be disbursed to all exporters who have been exporting since May 5 2016.

According to RBZ governor, John Mangudya, all exporters have been accruing the incentive since May 4 when the bond notes announcement was made.

The vouchers will be released dating back to all export transactions made from May 5.

In May, the governor announced that the RBZ was set to print bond notes under a $200 million Africa Export Import Bank-backed bond, but the development was interpreted by some quarters as an attempt to sneak the discredited Zimbabwe dollar through the back door.

Zimbabwe — which abandoned its currency in 2009 and adopted nine foreign currencies as legal tender — still has fresh memories of the 2008 hyper-inflationary era.

The proposed bond notes are set to make up four percent of the over $6 billion cash in circulation.

When the announcement was made, Zimbabweans — still traumatised by the inflationary effects of the bearer cheques — panicked, with depositors rushing to withdraw their cash from banks.

Market analysts say government needs to deal with issues of trust and honesty before introducing a currency of any sort. Daily News

Considering that their rating is so low the big three rating agencies have stopped rating them, and at best it would be in the Ds as they have defaulted on loans and even the IMF has refused to loan them any more money, I can only say....

It's been listed, at least here, for a long time. There is also this disclaimer:

The Zimbabwean Dollar is the currency of Zimbabwe. Our currency rankings show that the most popular Zimbabwe Dollar exchange rate is the ZWD to USD rate. The currency code for Dollars is ZWD, and the currency symbol is Z$. Below, you'll find Zimbabwean Dollar rates and a currency converter. You can also subscribe to our currency newsletters with daily rates and analysis, read the XE Currency Blog, or take ZWD rates on the go with our XE Currency Apps and website.

Zimbabwean Dollar History

In January 2009, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe permitted the use of foreign currency in Zimbabwe in response to an economic decline that caused inflation levels of 5 billion percent. By April 2009, the Zimbabwe dollar was suspended indefinitely. The government has adopted a multiple currency framework which includes the Australian Dollar, Botswana Pula, British Sterling Pound, Chinese Yuan, Euro, Japanese Yen, Indian Rupee, South African Rand, and United States Dollar. For more information, read the BBC's "Zimbabwe's multi-currency confusion".

They just stopped updating the exchange rate and info on the site when Zimbabwe suspended their currency. It has not changed since I first looked it up when the pooroos started pumping it.

OK thanks Kevin

:tup: