* Says there is huge potential for private investors
* Govt should diversify economy from oil
By Duncan Miriri
NAIROBI, July 6 (Reuters) - South Sudan should have a new currency in about six months after gaining independence from the north this week, a senior World Bank official said on Wednesday.
The impoverished region becomes the world's newest nation on Saturday following a referendum in January agreed under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north.
"The currency is probably a six months' process. Printing it, shipping it, allowing people to convert. There is a central bank governor so the structure is there," Ian Bannon, acting country director for Sudan told a news conference, on his way to Juba to attend independence celebrations.
The key test will be how quickly officials grasp the finer details of implementing economic policies from scratch, he said.
"These are things that people learn by doing. These officials will have to try it and they will make mistakes," Bannon said.
Once celebrations to usher in the new republic are over, officials will soon have to set an exchange rate and craft monetary policies, among other pressing priorities that include diversifying the economy.
Bannon said the government could stimulate sectors such as agriculture in order to cut dependence on oil -- which makes up 98 percent of the state's total revenues -- and create jobs and improve citizens' living standards.
"It can't just be that you have a new flag and a new national anthem. It has to be improvements in their lives," he said.
Lacking in basic infrastructure like roads and telecommunications, the new nation will offer myriad opportunities to private investors, although it will be up to the government to pull them in with friendly policies, Bannon said.
"It is really up to the government to make that environment welcoming. In a country with so little infrastructure, the potential is huge," he said.
"Just about anything you can think of is needed. The question is, will the private sector say, 'Ok, we will come and invest'?" (Editing by James Macharia and Susan Fenton) (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit; http://af.reuters.com/)
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