ANKARA, Dec 29 (AFP) - As Turkey prepares to launch a new currency in 2005 in testimony to its successful fight against chronic inflation, many Turks greet the reform with approval but are also apprehensive about possible confusion as people get used to the new money.
In a landmark move, Turkey will launch the New Turkish Lira -- or the YTL, as it is called here -- on January 1, scrapping six zeroes from its currency which hyperinflated over decades of chronic inflation and financial crises.
"This will be a really good step. All those zeros made me dizzy and made it very difficult to keep books," said Omer Faruk Hoyuk, an 84-year-old retired accountant.
For others, the reform will have both practical benefits and help mend the country's broken pride.
"Our purses will finally grow lighter," Muazzez Avci, a 58-year-old housewife, said. "And no one will laugh at our money again."
For Turks, the zero-ridden Turkish lira became a source of national shame as a symbol of economic failure as they juggled with wages measured in billions in a country with a budget calculated in quadrillions.
Once the reform gets underway, Turks will see not only banknotes with fewer zeroes but also witness the return of the kurus, which disappared from circulation more than two decades ago. There will be 100 kurus to the New Turkish lira.
The government says time is ripe for the currency reform in the wake of a spectacular economic recovery thanks to a tight austerity programme backed by the International Monetary Fund to pull the country out of its worst recession since World War II.
A survey commissioned by the central bank in October found that there was significant public support for the reform.
Of 2,200 people interviewed in 12 of the country's 81 provinces, 66.5 percent said the currency reform was a necessary step, with 27.7 percent saying the reform would increase the prestige of the Turkish currency and 24.9 percent saying the new money would be easier to use.
But the survey also showed that 56.4 percent of the interviewees were concerned that at first they would have difficulty in converting old currency values into new, leading to confusion.
"I am sure there will be a mess at first," said Adnan Kotan, a 41-year-old owner of a supermarket. "There are so many people who are illiterate. I am sure there will be opportunists who will deceive them."
A vigorous campaign to introduce the new currency has been underway for the past nine months, with authorities distributing posters and leaflets carrying pictures of the new money and with the visual media broadcasting a promotion film.
In a bid to ensure a smooth transition, the central bank has announced that both the old and new currencies will remain in circulation during a transition period until December 31, 2005, when labels will show prices in both denominations.
Nonetheless, the media has carried warnings by psychologists for people to be careful when making the conversion and watch out not to overspend on seeing prices in two- or three-digit figures instead of many as is the case now.
"I think people will actually hold on to their money and cut back on spending," predicted 30-year-old housewife Narin Gurel.
"We are yet to see the economic progress the government is talking about. There are still price hikes and no real increase in incomes," she added.
Despite the general optimism, there are also those who doubt the reform.
"The fact that the economy is getting better is a fairy tale," said Tulay Yildiz, 47, who runs a tobacco kiosk.
"I recently had to close one of my three shops. Business is realy slow. What will change if we have the new money or the old money?" she asked.
12/29/2004 16:43 GMT - AFP