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UPDATE 1-Sudan names new central bank governor: state media
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Mar 7, 2011 - 7:33:16 AM

UPDATE 1-Sudan names new central bank governor: state media

KHARTOUM, March 7 (Reuters) - Sudan on Monday named former state finance minister Mohamed Kheir al-Zubeir as the new governor of its central bank, replacing Sabir Mohammad al-Hassan who said he was resigning from the post on Sunday.

"Mohamed Kheir al-Zubeir appointed governor for Bank of Sudan," Sudan's state news agency Suna reported in a text message alert, using a common name for the Central Bank of Sudan.

The bank said Sabir Mohammad al-Hassan, 65, was stepping down because of his age and the arduous nature of the job.

Hassan left at a delicate time in Sudan, four months ahead of the secession of the country's oil-producing south.

Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence in a January referendum, promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war.

Uncertainty over how the two nations will disentangle themselves, and fears of a return to conflict, have added to an economic crisis that has created foreign exchange shortages, an effective currency devaluation and rising inflation. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Toby Chopra)