Unified Gulf currency by 2015 seen
JEDDAH - GCC countries are in active discussion to decide upon the name and denominations of the proposed unified Gulf currency and its printing by mid-year in 2013, sources at the General Secretariat of the GCC said.
The year 2015 is proposed for the launch of the unified Gulf currency, they said. However, the actual date of the launch will depend on the progress achieved by the monetary council of the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council).
The governing council of the Gulf Monetary Council includes the governors of the central banks of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. It would meet in Riyadh in the third week of March to discuss the progress made by its technical teams in charge of preparing institutional and regulatory frameworks for the council and follow up the achievements in this regard as the nucleus of the Gulf Central Bank.
With regard to the new currency's tie-up with the US dollar, the source said it may have a full tie-up with a single currency, i.e., the US dollar or would tie-up with a bundle of currencies in which the US dollar would have a lion's share.
The new currency is expected to bring smoothness in the fiscal and monetary policies, besides facilitating regional financial integration and intensifying financial discipline and transparency. It is also expected to boost internal and external investments.
