Azerbaijan, Baku, May 29/Trend M. Moezzi
Iran could carve away four zeros from its national currency and rename it by next spring.
The timeline was given by Mahmoud Bahmani, who heads the Central Bank of Iran, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reports.
The Central Bank has presented its plan to eliminate four zeros from its currency unit, the rial to the Majlis (parliament). If the Majlis approves the bill in the first half of this year (Iran's solar year ended began on March 20), the new currency could come into circulation next spring, Bahmnai said.
Steep inflation, the rial's sharp devaluation against other currencies and the resulting bookkeeping problems are the reasons for the proposed change.
The rial's name will also be changed, if approved by the Majlis. The Central Bank has set up a website to seek suggestions for a new currency name. Daric, the currency unit used during the Achaemenid dynasty, toman and noor are some of the names suggested so far.