RIYADH, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) will introduce Riyal coins starting from Thursday to gradually replace the Riyal notes, Sabq local online news reported on Wednesday.

To get ready for the introduction of the coins, SAMA has taken the required measures for easy dealing, including the allocation of sorting and counting machines.

SAMA has defended the move for reasons including the long life expectancy of the coins, greater resilience to counterfeiting and ease of recycling.

The move is part of a series of steps that Saudi Arabia is adopting to promote business efficiency to meet various economic growth plans, mainly huge international projects that are based in the country.