In Focus | Syria: 5000 SYP banknote been issued

Law 23, which is the official law under which the Central Bank of Syria operates, has seen a number of amendments after 2011. In 2018, Article 16 was amended, so that it became possible to issue more denominations, may be up to 5000 SYP notesbanks, as the article used to state that the upper limit to be issued is 1000 SYP notes.
Some observers had expected, according to this amendment, the new note would be issued during 2018.

It seems that such amendments were made at the request of the Monetary and Credit Council - if any - or the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria and the economic team in an attempt to adapt to the conditions that the Syrian pound is going through. 

In fact, a set of points can be noted about this new version of the currency, the most important of which are:

1- The preparation for the new issuance was done long ago, as the law was amended to allow the release of such a note, and media close to the Central Bank in 2018 published a copy of the currency (unlike the format that was adopted in the actual version issued in 2021) that it was arranged to be issued at that time.

2- It can be seen that the new design of the recent note has neither the image of Bashar al-Assad or his father's, contrary to what happened in the issuance of the 2000-pound one, that contains Bashar al-Assad portrait which consequently led to a large boycott by the Syrians, especially in northern Syria.

3- The key features placed on the recent issued denomination is the statue of the Syrian soldier, which was recently adopted in the squares of many cities, most notably the Umayyad Square in Damascus in addition to the Syrian flag. It also has a second-century mural of the Temple of Baal Shams in Syria's Palmyra, which is often placed on notes and coins where the obverse carries modern connotations, while the reverse carries a historical dimension.

4- It is noticed that both the design and color of the 5000 SYP paper are similar to the "fifty euros" note, which reflects that the design was executed by a foreign designer or under his supervision.

5-Many suggest that the quantities offered from the new banknotes will constitute a greater supply of money, despite the Central Bank’s statement that it will replace other denominations, and that the supply will not be increased, but this matter is expected to deteriorate the Syrian Pound's value in the coming period.

6- It is not excluded that Article 16 of Law 23 may be amended this year, allowing the issuance of a denomination of ten thousand Syrian pounds as some sources told Jusoor that the design of the new banknote has already been made, awaiting the proper time for enacting amendments.

Unit of Analysis and Thinking - Jusoor for Studies