Zimbabwe to release second tranche of bond notes

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said Wednesday it will release the second batch of 2 dollar bond notes amounting to 7 million dollars this week in line with its strategy to release the notes on a measured basis.

The RBZ released the first batch of 2 dollar bond notes worth 10 million dollars on November 28.

It said the 17 million bond notes will be against the value of 70 million dollars payable to exporters under an export incentive scheme.

The central bank added that 5 dollar bond notes will be released onto the market in due course. The bank thanked the public for embracing the notes.

"The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe would like to express its great appreciation to the Zimbabwean public, consumers and business, for embracing bond notes," the RBZ said in a statement.

"The Bank remains indebted to all the business organizations in Zimbabwe, large and small, that made the introduction of the bond notes a success," according to the statement.

It also allayed public fears that the notes were of inferior quality and therefore prone to counterfeiting.

"The bond notes are of high quality with many security features to make them secure. The rubbing off of ink and the variation of the security thread on the notes are quite normal," it said.

The RBZ introduced the bond notes, backed by a 200 million dollar facility from African Export-Import Bank, as a measure to address cash shortages that have gripped the economy since March this year.

However, introduction of the notes has not yet brought relief to Zimbabweans as long queues of depositors are still the order of the day at most banks. Endit