Zimbabwe's central bank launched a new "structured currency" backed by gold on Friday, as it seeks to tackle sky-high inflation and stabilise the country's long-floundering economy.

"With effect from today... banks shall convert the current Zimbabwe dollar balances into the new currency, which shall be called the 'Zimbabwe Gold' (ZiG) to foster simplicity, certainty, predictability in our financial affairs," Reserve Bank governor John Mushayavanhu said as he presented a monetary policy statement.