Tk200 banknotes arrive in March

FT ONLINE

Bangladesh Bank will start circulating the new Tk200 denomination banknotes on March 17 next year to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The notes will bear a written statement saying, "Jatir Janak Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman er Jonmo Shotobarshiki Upolokkhe Mudrito," which translates to - "Printed on the occasion of the 100th Birth Anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman."

The central bank's executive director and spokesperson Md Serajul Islam said that "Along with the Tk200 banknotes, Bangladesh Bank will also release silver and gold coins to mark the occasion.

"Commemorative banknotes of Tk100 denomination will also be released that day."

He further said, "The Tk200 notes will be commemorative transactionable banknotes. They will be printed regularly just like any other banknotes. However, after one year of circulation, the newly printed notes will no longer bear the commemorative statement."

Bangladesh Bank has the sole authority to print paper notes. The Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd prints the currency as demanded by the central bank.

After independence, Bangladesh's first currency was printed in 1972, and on June 2 the same year Bangladesh started transaction with its own currency. The Taka started as a currency with Tk10 banknotes.

The central bank then gradually printed and circulated one, two, five, twenty, fifty, one hundred, five hundred and one thousand Taka denominations.

Bangladesh Bank decided to circulate the new Tk200 notes to meet the ever-increasing demand for change (notes of smaller denomination), said central bank sources, adding that currently there are 52 types of paper currency and 11 types of metal coins circulating in the market.

The last time the central bank introduced banknotes of a new denomination was in 2008, when the Tk1,000 notes entered circulation. Bangladesh Bank has been publishing commemorative notes and coins to mark different occasions for decades.