Zimbabwe's central bank, currently grappling with record-breaking inflation, has introduced a new high-denomination bank note of a quarter of a billion dollars, state television said on Monday.

"The reserve bank of Zimbabwe's governor Gideon Gono has unveiled a new Z$100-million and Z$250-million... note and this will be in circulation starting tomorrow (Tuesday)," reported state television.

The report said the new note was for "the convenience of the banking public and the corporate sector."

This is the second set of high denomination notes to be issued this year, the last on 2 April when a Z$50-million note was put into circulation after the introduction of a Z$10-million note in January.

On 19 December 2007 Gono announced the immediate introduction of higher denominations of banknotes in a bid to tackle cash shortages fed by runaway inflation.

The following day, Z$250 000, Z$500 000 and Z$750 000 notes officially came into circulation.

The southern African nation, currently gripped by a post-election crisis, has been ravaged by hyperinflation which reached 165 000 percent in February.

It decided recently to float its currency to eliminate speculation on the black market. The official exchange rate in Zimbabwe has been kept at Z$30 000 for one US dollar since September 2007 — but on the thriving black market, one US dollar can be exchanged for around Z$100-million. The country's chronic economic crisis has condemned millions to grinding poverty with at least 80 percent of the population living below the poverty threshold amid mass shortages of basic goods in shops.

AFP