2013 Rebasing
On January 23, 2012, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda announced that Zambia would rebase the kwacha currency by lopping off three zeros, a move that should make it easier for foreign investors to participate in the economy.
“The rebasing had to be done when all the fundamentals like inflation and GDP growth were right and we think they are now right,” Chikwanda said. Currency rebasing usually does not change the exchange value of the currency and is introduced to make commercial calculations easier.
Initial reaction to the move was positive. Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered commented saying, “The rebasing might be kwacha positive, to the extent that it is a continued commitment to low, and stable inflation”.
On 22 August 2012 the Bank of Zambia issued a press release stating that the changeover date for the rebased currency had been set as 1 January 2013.The new ISO code will be ZMW.
Read more about this topic: Zambian Kwacha