Syria could introduce a "neo-Syrian lira" by removing two zeros from the current currency, which has become an urgent necessity, Syrian economist George Khazzam has stated, Syria Steps reported on April 9.

Syria continues to suffer from hyperinflation due to years of war, with the new government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa quickly looking for support from regional countries including Turkey and Qatar to help move the economy away from years of state control. The push by the economist also comes as the Central Bank of Syria comes under the power Abdul Qader Al-Husriya.

The situation of the Syrian lira/pound reflects the country's situation in recent years where the current rate in Damascus stands at SYP10,650 on April 9 compared with the price in 2016 of SYP300 to the US dollar. 

Khazzam added that such a measure would be appropriate if circulating news is correct that the Central Bank does not have large reserves of Syrian lira, is not involved in draining cash liquidity in Syrian lira, and is not delivering deposits due to insufficient Syrian lira balances.

The economist questioned whether it was reasonable that currency exchange offices alone in Syria and abroad have the financial capabilities to drain the liquidity of trillions of Syrian liras while causing rapid fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate or if there is a state with financial capabilities behind this drainage.

"As I have previously stated, draining liquidity with the illusory reduction in the dollar exchange rate has made the prices of imports lower than the prices of national products while withdrawing savings from citizens. With the flooding of imports, industry and the economy have been destroyed," Khazzam explained.

He concluded that issuing a neo-lira by removing two zeros from the currency has become more urgent than ever, along with reprinting all forms of the old Syrian currency from 5 neo-liras to 500 neo-liras that contain only historical symbols of Syria.

Khazzam also suggested a limited issuance of a high denomination of 50,000 neo-liras with very high-security specifications, which would serve as tradable government bonds in the market to reduce the costs of printing larger quantities of currency.

The proposal comes as Syria faces severe economic challenges, including currency depreciation, inflation, and liquidity issues that have significantly hit citizens' purchasing power.