What is special about the currencies of ASEAN countries?

(Baonghean.vn) - All ASEAN countries mainly use the US dollar in international payments, however each country has its own currency.

1. Indonesia

Rupiah banknotes, only 1000 Rp and 5000 Rp notes are in circulation.

Rupiah (Rp) is the official currency of Indonesia. It is issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code of Indonesian rupiah is IDR. The symbol used on banknotes and coins is Rp. This name is taken from the Indian currency rupee.

Informally, Indonesians also use the word "perak" ('silver' in Indonesian) to refer to the rupiah currency. The rupiah is divided into 100 sen, although inflation has made sen-denominated banknotes and coins obsolete.

2. Malaysia

Malaysian banknotes

The Malaysian Ringgit (also known as the Malaysian Dollar) is the official currency of Malaysia. One ringgit is divided into 100 sen (cents) and is denoted by the MYR. On 12 June 1967, the Malaysian Dollar replaced the British Malaya and Borneo Dollar. The Malaysian Dollar was the new currency issued by the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia.

Bank Negara Malaysia first issued Malaysian dollar banknotes in June 1967 in denominations of $1, $5, $10, $50 and $100. The $1000 denomination was first issued in 1968. Malaysian banknotes have always carried the image of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Queen and King) of Malaysia.

Malaysian coins.

On 7 December 2005, the RM1 coin was demonetised and withdrawn from circulation. This was partly due to problems with standardisation (two different versions of the coin were minted) and counterfeiting.

Three types of gold bullion coins, "Kijang Emas" (kijang (a type of deer) is the official logo of Bank Negara Malaysia) were also issued with nominal values ​​of RM 50, RM 100 and RM 200. These coins were issued on 7 July 2001 by Bank Negara Malaysia and minted by Royal Mint of Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The buying and selling prices of Kijang Emas are determined by the international market price of gold in circulation.

3. Philippines

Paper money in the Philippines.

The Piso (Filipino) or peso (English and Spanish) is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 sentimos (English and Spanish: centavos). The ISO 4217 name is "Philippine peso" and the code is "PHP". Although the name printed on banknotes and coins changed from "peso" to "piso" in 1967, the name peso continues to be used locally in many contexts where English is spoken.

The peso currency is commonly denoted as PhilippinePeso.svg. This symbol was added to the Unicode standard in version 3.2 and assigned the code U+20B1 (₱). Due to lack of font support, this symbol is often replaced by the simple letter P, a P with one horizontal line instead of two (available with the peseta sign, U+20A7 (₧), in some fonts), PHP, or PhP.

Coins in the Philippines.

Metal coins are minted at the Security Plant Complex. Paper money and many other government documents and papers are printed at the Security Plant Complex or the National Printing Office.

The Philippine peso takes its name from the Spanish silver coin Real de a Ocho or Spanish dollar, which circulated widely in the Americas and Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries, through its use in Spanish colonies and even in the United States and Canada.

4. Singapore

Singapore banknotes.

The Singapore dollar (SGD) is the currency of Singapore. It is often abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively written S$ to distinguish it from other currencies that have dollar names. The Singapore dollar is divided into 100 cents.

The Singapore dollar is a freely convertible currency, which allows it to float freely according to supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, but it is also monitored by the Monetary Authority of Singapore against a trade-weighted basket of currencies. The currencies involved are not publicly available to protect the currency from speculative attacks and other unnatural pressures on its value.

Singapore coins

Since the Asian financial crisis, many countries such as the People's Republic of China have adopted Singapore's managed float system.

Before the crisis, 1 USD was worth approximately 1.4 SGD. After the crisis, it increased to 1.8 SGD. In March 2007, 1 USD was worth approximately 1.52520 SGD. The Brunei dollar is pegged to the Singapore dollar at a rate of 1:1 [1], and the currency is accepted as “customary tender”, but not legal tender, in the other country and vice versa.

5. Thailand

Thai banknotes.

The baht (Thai: บาท, symbol ฿, ISO 4217 code THB) is the currency of Thailand. The baht is divided into 100 satang (สตางค์). The Bank of Thailand is the agency responsible for issuing currency.

A baht is also a unit of weight for gold and is commonly used by jewelers and goldsmiths in Thailand. 1 baht = 15.244 g (15.244 g is used for bars or ingots or "raw" gold; in the case of jewelry, 1 is more than 15.16 g).

Thai coins.

Thailand formerly used a currency called the tical and this name was used in English text on banknotes until 1925. However, the baht currency came into being in the 19th century. Both the tical and the baht were originally units of weight and coins were issued in both gold and silver named after their weight in baht and its fractions and multiples.

Until 27 November 1902, the tical was fixed on a pure silver basis, with 15 grams of silver equalling 1 baht. This made the value of the Thai currency unit volatile compared to currencies on the gold standard. In 1857, the value of certain silver coins was fixed by law, with 1 baht = 0.6 Straits dollar and 5 baht = 7 Indian rupees. Before 1880, the exchange rate was fixed at 8 baht per British pound, but fell to 10 baht per pound in the 1880s.

6. Brunei

Brunei banknotes and coins.

The Brunei dollar (currency code: BND) has been the currency of Brunei since 1967. It is often abbreviated by the dollar sign $, or written B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-based currencies. The Brunei dollar is divided into 100 sen (Malay) or cents (British).

The Brunei Dollar has a fixed exchange rate of 1:1 with the Singapore Dollar. (Singapore is one of Brunei's major trading partners).

7. Vietnam

Vietnamese paper money.

Dong (VND) is the official currency of Vietnam, issued by the State Bank of Vietnam. Its symbol is ₫, its international code according to ISO 4217 is "VND". One dong is worth 100 xu or 10 hao. The xu and hao units are no longer issued because they are too small.

Paper money currently issued has values ​​of 500 VND, 1000 VND, 2000 VND, 5000 VND, 10,000 VND, 20,000 VND, 50,000 VND, 100,000 VND, 200,000 VND and 500,000 VND. There are also metal coins worth 200 VND, 500 VND, 1000 VND, 2000 VND and 5000 VND. This type of money was formerly popularly called Uncle Ho Money because most of the front of the paper money had Ho Chi Minh's image printed on it and especially when used to distinguish it from other types of money that used to circulate in Vietnam with the same name, "dong".

According to current Vietnamese law, paper money and coins are unlimited legal tender, meaning that people are required to accept them when they are used to pay for a debt established in VND in any quantity or denomination.

However, metal money (also known as coins) did not create a habit of use among the people and was not popular, especially in the North. In April 2011, the State Bank of Vietnam officially announced to stop issuing coins.

8. Lao PDR

Lao banknotes.

The kip (Lao: ກີບ) has been the currency of Laos since 1952. Its ISO 4217 code is LAK and is often written as ₭ or ₭N. One kip is divided into 100 att (ອັດ).

Metal coins were minted in denominations of 10, 20, and 50 att or cents with French and Lao inscriptions. All were cast in aluminum and had a hole in the middle, like the Chinese wen coin. The coin was not minted until 1952.

The Pathet Lao kip was introduced sometime before 1976 in areas under Pathet Lao control. The denominations issued were: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 kip. The banknotes were printed in China.

In 1979, a currency reform took place, replacing the 100 kip Pathet Lao coin with the new kip. Before 1980, Laos had coins in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att. But then, due to inflation, coins were no longer used in circulation.

In 1979, banknotes came in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 kip. 500 kip was added in 1988, followed by 1,000 kip in 1992, 2000 and 5,000 kip in 1997, 10,000 and 20,000 kip in 2002, and 50,000 on 17 January 2006.

9. Myanmar

Myanmar banknotes.

The kyat (Burmese: Kyat.png kyap; IPA: [dʒɛʔ] or IPA: [tʃɛʔ]; ISO 4217 code MMK; pronounced chat) is the currency of Myanmar. It is often abbreviated as "K", placed before the numerical value.

When Japan invaded Burma in 1942, they introduced a currency based on the rupee. The kyat was reissued by the Japanese in 1943. The 1943 kyat was divided into 100 cents, but by the end of World War II and Japan's defeat, the kyat had completely lost its value. The rupee was then reintroduced.

The current kyat currency was introduced on 1 July 1952. It replaced the rupee at par. Decimal sub-units were also established with the kyat being divided into 100 pya.

10. Cambodia

Cambodian banknotes.

The Riel (Khmer: រៀល, symbol ៛, pronounced as Ria, Vietnamese transliteration is Riên) is the currency of Cambodia. There are two separate riel currencies, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975, and the second since April 1, 1980. In Cambodia, the US dollar is also widely used.

Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no currency. Although the Khmer Rouge printed paper money (in denominations of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 riel, in 1975), these notes were not issued because money was abolished after the Khmer Rouge took control of the country.

After Vietnam defeated the Khmer Rouge in 1978, the riel was re-established as Cambodia's currency on April 1, 1980, initially at a value of 4 riel = 1 US dollar. The riel had smaller units, 1 riel equaling 10 kak or 100 sen. With no alternative money and the economy in serious disarray, the central government distributed money to the population to encourage its use.

In rural areas, the riel is the de facto currency used for purchases. However, the US dollar is also used, especially in urban and tourist areas. In Battambang and other areas near the Thai border, such as Pailin, the Thai baht is also accepted.

Banknotes were introduced in 1980 in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 kak, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 riel. Later banknotes were issued in denominations up to 100,000 riel. However, banknotes above 10,000 riel are less common. The series of banknotes gradually introduced since 2001-2002 are 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 riel.

11. East Timor

East Timor considers the USD as the official currency in circulation in this country.

Colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, East Timor was known as Portuguese Timor for centuries. It was invaded and occupied by Indonesia in 1975 and became Indonesia's 27th province a year later.

Following a UN-sponsored self-determination vote in 1999, Indonesia withdrew from the territory and East Timor became the first sovereign state established in the 21st century and the 3rd millennium on 20 May 2002. Along with the Philippines, East Timor is one of two countries in Asia with a Catholic majority.

Because it was recently established, East Timor does not have its own currency, but uses the US dollar (USD) as the currency in circulation nationwide.

Kim Ngoc

(Synthetic)