Turkey plans to progressively wipe six zeros out of the Turkish lira, long hit by a chronic inflation, in the beginning of 2001, the central bank governor Gazi Ercel said Tuesday, Anatolia news agency reported.
In November, a 10-million-lira (around 16 dollars, 17 euros) banknote entered into circulation. The smallest currency unit is a coin of 5,000 lira.
"If the inflation is pulled down as planned, we are in favor of erasing up to six zeros from the Turkish lira by early 2001," Ercel told reporters, according to the agency.
The central bank had begun the necessary technical work on the issue, he added.
"But in order to start implementation we should first see inflation drop to around 20 percent," Ercel said.
Turkey's annual inflation stood at 67.9 percent in March.
Ankara aims to reduce inflation to between 20 and 25 percent in 2000, 10 percent in 2001 and five percent in 2002 under a three-year, four-billion dollar stand-by agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund last December -- ANKARA (AFP)
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