~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam introduces new banknotes to foil counterfeiters

HANOI - New banknotes and coins are being introduced in Vietnam to make life harder for counterfeiters as Vietnam's central bank reaffirmed it is on top of changes in the dong's exchange rate, state media reported.

Durable, polymer banknotes made in Australia will replace the existing paper 50,000 dong (three dollar) notes, the most widely forged denomination. For the first time a 500,000 dong note will be put into circulation. Currently the largest denomination is the 100,000 dong note.

"Using polymer will help us in the fight against counterfeit money," Le Duc Thuy, governor of Vietnam's central bank told AFP recently. "The choice of this material suits our climate and our tradition of using banknotes." Coins for 200, 1,000 and 5,000 dong will also make a comeback since being shelved in 1985 because of spiralling inflation. The new coins have been made by an unidentified European manufacturer and are said to last 10-15 times longer than notes.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Vietnam reiterated that it has the dong exchange rate against the dollar under control. "The State Bank of Vietnam is able to act in order to stabilise the market if necessary," Phung Khac Ke, deputy governor of the State Bank of Vietnam told Thanh Nien newspaper. Last month, the US dollar was up 1.8 percent against the dong, compared with a year ago. Ke said he was expecting a slight devaluation of around 2.0 percent of the currency against the dollar next year.

Agence France Presse - December 16, 2003