Why not take a look at our neighbors and how they’re doing?
By: Akkharat, Year 9
Cambodia is a fascinating country, yet we know so little about it. Just to recap, the country is located to the southeast of Thailand, and is a member of ASEAN (or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Their official language is Khmer (Cambodian) with their capital city being Phnom Penh, and their most famous famous landmark, Angkor Wat: the world's largest temple, found in the province of Siem Reap named in reference to their historic conflict with the ancient kingdom of Siam (now Thailand). The official currency of the nation is the Cambodian Riel (KHR) a currency that is often overlooked, so here everything you need to know about it.
The Cambodian Riel is the national currency of Cambodia with its abbreviated symbol being KHR. As of 2023, the Cambodian Riel includes 9 main dominations, and 3 rare commemorative issues. However, the Cambodian Riel in its entirety wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the NBC, known as National Bank of Cambodia’s attempts to save it.
As Cambodia gained independence in 1953, the National Bank of Cambodia was established. The NBC then gained autonomy of printing the Riels as the national currency of Cambodia as well as managing the country’s banking system. As the notorious Khmer Rouge came into power from 1975 to 1975, the NBC, along with the banking system has been being eliminated and the rule was abolished to match the classless agrarian system which had been forcefully established. The Khmer Rouge did try printing banknotes; however, they weren’t put into circulation soon after all currency was abolished. When the regime came to a collapsed in January 7th, 1979, the NBC was reestablished as the central bank of the country again in 1979, renamed as the “People’s Bank of Kampuchea” by the Council of the Revolutionary People of Cambodia. However, it was extremely difficult to rebuild both the bank and the nation soon after the rule of one of the most infamous classless regimes. With efforts to overcoming the obstacles of reconstructing a banking system from scratch, H. E. Chea Chanto, Senior Minister and Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, who were also the initial founders of the NBC committed to rebuilding the NBC. In 1991, the first commercial bank, Cambodia Commercial Bank, also known as “CCB”, was established under the form of a state joint venture bank to attract investors and serve the activities of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The Paris Peace Accord on October 23rd, 1991 which was an agreement between the government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam and the United States which ended the US involvement in Vietnam war, transformed theeconomic regime from a planning economy to a free market economy, and on January 30th 1992, the National Assembly of Cambodia adopted the Law on the Change of Organization name, once again and the duty of the bank of Cambodia from the “People’s Bank of Kampuchea” back to the “National Bank of Cambodia”, which was promulgated by the council of state on February 8th 1992. Nowadays, Cambodia’s banking system has gradually strengthened, modernized and has become one of the strongest growing economies in the world. As of 2023, Cambodia’s economic growth rate has reached an average growth rate of around 5% according to various sources such as ADB or country.eiu.
Now, let’s talk about the banknotes of Cambodia. Specifically, the commemorative notes. As I mentioned earlier, there are 3 denominations: 15,000, 30,000 and 100,000. These banknotes are issued for special events such as the King’s coronation anniversary, which are the case for the 15,000 and 100,000 notes. The 15,000 Riel was issued to commemorate the 15th anniversary of King Norodom Sihamoni, while for the 100,000 Riels were issued to commemorate the King’s 60th birthday, depicting former King Norodom Sihanouk with his wife, Norodom Monineath which makes the 100,000 one of the first Cambodian Riel note to show a female monarch’s portrait. As for the 30,000 Riel note, they issued to commemorate the previously mentioned Paris Peace Accord, celebrating its 30th anniversary and the return of King Norodom Sihanouk to Cambodia after an exile when the Khmer Rouge seized power making it one of the first banknotes to include the former Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen along with the King.
The future of Cambodian Riels is unknown, and we don’t know what will happen to the currency as dollarization is emerging spontaneously in Cambodia. Public confidence in the riel eroded following a series of shocks that ranged from the destruction of all infrastructures by the Khmer Rouges. There are attempts to restore confidence as dollarization is in progress, and according to NBC, the authorities do not support a full dollarization of the economy. The Government thinks dollarization is full of disadvantages. However, despite various measures that were taken in the past to “de-dollarize” the country, the trend is still towards even greater dollarization. And as of current, there are no harsh punishments being taken for the use of the dollar but there are plans to promote the use of the national currency, one full of interesting culture and history that remains often unheard of till this day.
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