Will the Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, restore currency confidence?

The heightened sense of urgency within Zimbabwe’s government to act as the country’s currency crashed – losing 90% of its value since the beginning of the year – was there for all to see in the past few weeks. The latest tell-tale sign was the assumption of office of the new central bank governor on March 28, a month earlier than the scheduled departure of his predecessor, to expedite the launch of a new unit. Unveiled on April 5 and set to enter into circulation by month-end, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) is described by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) as a “structured currency” that is backed by $285-million worth of reserve assets comprising $100-million in greenbacks, 1.1 t of gold in the bank’s vaults and an additional 1.5 t held abroad, as well as other precious metals.