New Myanmar banknotes to be issued ‘once economy is stable”
NEW BANKNOTES will be printed and distributed when the Myanmar economy is stable, but the exact time has not been fixed, said Soe Min, vice governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar.
On Tuesday, an MP representing Thayet Constituency raised a question in parliament about whether there was a plan to replace existing banknotes with new ones. In response, Soe Min said that if new banknotes were printed, it would cost about 300 billion kyat (Bt8 billion) and existing notes would be destroyed.
“The trust of the people in the banknotes may lessen as the pictures on the notes will be different. These points must be taken into account,” he said.
“There might be difficulty in exchanging banknotes. For that reason, [the central] bank will follow the provisions prescribed in Section 65 and Section 66 and print new notes at the appropriate time when the economy of the state is stable.”
He said that before new notes could actually be printed, they would have to be designed, approved, and stored ahead of release into circulation. “The exact time has not been fixed in this regard.”
Section 62 of the law governing the Central Bank of Myanmar says it is authorised to produce banknotes and coins. Section 65 says the values of different notes, their designs, materials and symbols must be approved by the government.
Section 66 says that if necessary, the central bank can change any kind of banknote after seeking approval of the government.
