South Sudan seceded from the north on Saturday, a separation won at the climax of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war.

South Sudan finance minister David Deng Athorbei told reporters in Juba the country would receive its first shipment of South Sudanese pounds from a British printer on Wednesday.

"And then on the 18th the Government of South Sudan should have done its job ... and then it will be the job of the Central Bank of South Sudan to issue the currency," he said.

"From the 18th onwards, depending on the distribution ... your money will be out." The minister said it would have a one-to-one value with the north Sudanese pound.

Copyright Reuters, 2011