Foreign currency

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Description: "The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM), which is controlled by the military regime, has sold nearly US$90 million (148 billion kyats) since the February coup as the kyat’s value tumbles. The CMB auctioned $6.8 million to domestic banks in February following the coup, $12 million in April, $24 million in May, $12 million in June and $33 million by July 28. The kyat has depreciated by 23 percent against the US dollar since the coup to around 1,700 kyats, according to currency dealers. It is partly because of supply and demand pressures, said a businessman. Myanmar is earning fewer dollars as exports have fallen and export earnings have declined. But demand for the dollar has not changed significantly as Myanmar imports numerous products, including fuel, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods. “People are saving dollars as their trust in the kyat has declined. Our country relies on imports and there is always demand for the dollar. The dollar value will remain high,” he said. The floor price fixed by CBM at its dollar auctions is 1,645 kyats. Before the coup, the exchange rate was just over 1,300 kyats. The bulk selling of dollars while the kyat is depreciating, the growing trade deficit and Myanmar not receiving new foreign investments will only reduce the foreign currency reserves of the regime which is keen to acquire hard currency. Myanmar’s economy is expected to shrink by 18 percent this fiscal year under the regime and a rapid surge of COVID-19, the World Bank said in its latest report..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2021-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2021-07-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Since the abolition of the official peg and the introduction of a managed float in April 2012, the Central Bank of Myanmar has operated the daily two?way auctions of foreign exchange aimed at smoothing exchange rate fluctuations. Despite the reforms to the foreign exchange regime, however, informal trading of foreign exchange remains pervasive. Using the daily informal exchange rate and Central Bank auction data, this study examines the impacts of auctions on the informal market rate. First, a VAR analysis indicates that the official rate did not Granger cause the informal rate. Second, GARCH models indicate that the auctions did not reduce the conditional variance of the informal rate returns. Overall, the auctions have only a quite modest impact on the informal exchange rate..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Institute for Developing Economies (IDE) Discussion Paper No. 532
2015-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-04-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: Abstract: "We address the puzzle why the black market for foreign exchange thrives in Myanmar despite the successful unification of multiple exchange rates. A closer look at the black market reveals that its enduring competitiveness stems from its lower transaction costs. A question arising from this observation is how the official market, namely banks, can compete with and replace the black market. Our empirical analysis based on an original questionnaire survey of private export firms regarding their choices of currency trading modes suggests that banks can attract exporters by exploiting the economies of scope between currency trading and lending.".....Keywords: Myanmar, exchange rate unification, black market for foreign exchange, economies of scope in banking
Creator/author: Koji KUBO
Source/publisher: Institute for Developing Economies (IDE/Jetro)
2015-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 414.34 KB
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Description: Abstract: Myanmar has peculiar conditions of deposit dollarization that were shaped by administrative controls. On the one hand, restrictive controls encouraged the accumulation of foreign currency deposits (FCD). On the other hand, foreign currency loans (FCL) were not practiced officially; therefore, FCD was not utilized for credit. Given the adverse effects and persistence of dollarization in other dollarized economies and the recent recovery of local currency deposits in Myanmar, this paper opts for the prohibition of FCL and offers policy measures for de-dollarization......Keywords: dollarization, foreign currency deposits, foreign currency loans, Myanmar JEL classification: F31, E41, O53
Creator/author: Koji KUBO
Source/publisher: Institute for Developing Economies (IDE) Discussion Paper 473
2014-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2014-10-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract: "Myanmar maintained a multiple exchange rate system, and the parallel market exchange rate was left untamed. In the last two decades, the Myanmar kyat exchange rate of the parallel market has exhibited the sharpest fluctuations among Southeast Asian currencies in real terms. Since the move to a managed float regime in April 2012, the question arises of whether exchange rate policies will be effective in stabilizing the real exchange rate. This paper investigates the sources of fluctuations in the real effective exchange rate using Blanchard and Quah?s (1989) structural vector autoregression model. As nominal shocks can be created by exchange rate policies, a persistent impact of a nominal shock implies more room for exchange rate policies. Decomposition of the fluctuations into nominal and real shocks indicates that the impact of nominal shocks is small and quickly diminishes, implying that complementary sterilization is necessary for effective foreign exchange market interventions"...Keywords: real and nominal effective exchange rates, structural VAR, Myanmar... JEL classification: F31, F41, O53
Creator/author: Koji KUDO
Source/publisher: IDE-JETRO Discussion paper No. 388
2013-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2013-07-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: In the five-year period from 2006 to 2011, the real exchange rate of the Myanmar kyat appreciated 200 percent, signifying that the value of the US dollar in Myanmar diminished to one third of its previous level. While the resource boom is suspected as a source of the real exchange rate appreciation, its aggravation is related to administrative controls on foreign exchange and imports. First, foreign exchange controls prevented replacement of the negotiated transactions of foreign exchange with the bank intermediation. This hampered government interventions in the market. Second, import controls repressed imports, aggravating excess supply of foreign exchange. Relaxation of administrative controls is necessary for moderating currency appreciation.
Creator/author: KUBO Koji
Source/publisher: Institute for Developing Economies (IDE DISCUSSION PAPER No. 358)
2012-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Burma?s national currency has stabilized after reaching an all-time low of around 395 kyat to the US dollar in mid-August. The kyat, which has been under pressure since civil servants received a pay increase of more than 500% in April, recovered to around 385 kyat to the dollar by late August, after briefly testing the 400 kyat per dollar level.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 8, August 2000
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: January 08, 2003—"During Burma?s time as a Socialist state, citizens were prevented by foreign exchange proceed laws to possess any foreign currency. Minor adjustments were made to this situation after 1988 when the military junta allowed a number of businessmen to open foreign currency accounts at two state-owned banks: the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and the Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB)..."
Creator/author: Danu Maung
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" Commentary Archive
2003-01-08
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Creator/author: Kyi May Kaung
Source/publisher: "Burma Debate", Vol. IV, No. 2
1997-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Size: 6.43 KB
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Description: In July the Burmese kyat declined from 185 to 280 to the US dollar. Then, it fell to 300 kyat.
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 5. No. 4-5,
1997-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The steady fall of Burma?s currency, the kyat, and the widening gap between the value of the US dollar and the dollar-denominated Foreign Exchange Certificate (FEC) have raised the possibility of renewed unrest in the military-run country..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9. No. 2 (Business section)
2001-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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