The Currencies of Asia’s Leading Economies© Stuart Mitchell

IntroductionThis slideshow provides a quick reference guide to the currencies used in Asia’s top five economies according to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP): China Japan India Russia South Korea

China Currency: Renminbi Where it is used: Peoples Democratic Republic of China

(except Hong Kong and Macua); Mongolia and Burma (unofficially)

Main Unit: Yuan Symbol: ￥ Denominations: jiǎo (￥ 1 = 10 jiǎo) and fēn (￥ 1 = 100 fēn) Central Bank: People's Bank of China £1 sterling = ￥ 10.239 Legal Tender:

Coins: ￥ 0.01 to ￥ 1 Notes: ￥ 0.1 to ￥ 2

Other Info: The term Renminbi is translated as ‘the peoples currency’ whilst the term yuan is derived from the Chinese names for a small round coin (see Japanese yen and South Korean won).

Japan Currency: Yen Where it is used: Japan Main Unit: Yen Symbol: ¥ Denominations: sen (¥1 = 100 sen) and rin (￥ 1 = 1,000 rin).

Neither have been used since 1953 Central Bank: Bank of Japan £1 sterling = ¥126.115 Legal Tender:

Coins: ¥1 to ¥500 Notes: ¥1,000 to ¥10,000

Other Info: Behind the US dollar and the Euro, the yen is the third most traded international currency. The name Yen is derived from the Chinese names for a small round coin (see Chinese yuan and South Korean won).

India Currency: Indian Rupee Where it is used: India; unofficially in parts of Bhutan and

Nepal Main Unit: Rupee Symbol: ₹ Denominations: paisa (₹1 = 100 paise) Central Bank: Reserve Bank of India £1 sterling = ₹ 86.693 Legal Tender:

Coins: ₹0.5 (50 paise) to ₹10 Notes: ₹5 to ₹1,000

Other Info: The rupee’s symbol, ₹, was designed and chosen through a competition open to the public and came into use as recently as July 2011.

Russia Currency: Ruble Where it is used: Russia; parts of the former USSR such as

Abkhazia and South Ossetia Main Unit: Ruble Symbol: TBA Denominations: kopek (1 ruble = 100 kopeks) Central Bank: Bank of Russia £1 sterling = 50.348 rubles Legal Tender:

Coins: 1 kopek to 10 rubles Notes: 5 to 5,000 rubles

Other Info: The ruble currently lacks an official symbol although the Russian authorities are currently trying to decide on one.

South Korea Currency: South Korean Won Where it is used: South Korea Main Unit: Won Symbol: ￦ Denominations: jeon (￦ 1 = 100 jeon). Not in current use. Central Bank: Bank of Korea £1 sterling = ￦ 1,816.590 Legal Tender:

Coins: ￦ 10 to ￦ 500 Notes: ￦ 1,000 to ￦ 50,000

Other Info: As mentioned above with the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen, both the won and the jeon share the common derivation referring to the small silver coins once in use across much of Asia.

Useful Links Business Link Foreign Currency Guide Money Research Institute

Foreign Currency Guide Wikipedia – Economy of Asia Bloomberg – Asian Currency Trading Asian Investment Funds