Brunei dollar Currency

Introduction

Brunei is a Southeast Asian nation and the name Brunei translates as the abode of peace. This country has close economic ties with Singapore and hence the Brunei dollar is pegged to Singapore dollar on equal rate of exchange, but the currencies are interchangeable on local basis.

Brunei is aiming to become the center for international offshore banking so that it helps in reducing the reliance on gas and oil and also to encourage the Brunei dollar value. It is bound by strong currency owing to the government and foreign participation.

There is no limit for importing local currency and other foreign currencies import are also free, but should be declared. The local currency limit for export is $1000 banknotes.

Background

Brunei is ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th of his family’s lineage. Brunei got its independence in 1984. Brunei became the third largest producer of oil after discovering in 1929 the oil deposits.

In subsequent years, natural gas deposits were also identified solidifying the position of the country as a energy provider. Brunei is making efforts in locating oil deposits undersea.

The monetary system in Brunei is managed by a Currency Board under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Brunei notes are made from polymer, a flexible synthetic substance offering absolute durability than the typical cotton paper that is also thwarting forgery. Brunei dollar coin denominations are 1c, 5c, 20c and 50c, while the banknotes denominations are B$1, B$5, B$10, B$50, B$100, B$500, B$1000, and B$10,000. Brunei dollar sign is $ or B$ so that it can be distinguished from other currencies that are dollar dominated.

The Brunei dollar is in the ratio of 1:1 with the Singapore dollar and Singapore is the major trading partners for Brunei. The currency code of Brunei dollar is BND, the ISO 4217 and 096 is the numeric code.

Configuration

The currency board is responsible to issue coinage and currency notes. The banknotes of Brunei dollar are issued in 9 denominations namely $1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 10,000. There are paper and polymer currency notes, but the latter is used for smaller denominations such as $1,5 and 10 owing to high usage.

The notes sizes vary as per their value and come in different colors depicting various landscapes on the riverside. $1 has rainforest waterfall and is blue, yellow and green in color, $5 is green, blue and yellow in color having rainforest floor, $10 with Rainforest canopy and is red, brown and yellow in color, $25 depicts the royal crown and is purple, green, light orange and brown in color, $50 has Oilrig and is brown, blue and green in color, $100 with orange and blue in color has Brunei international airport, $500 has Padian woman boat paddling and is brown and orange in color, $1000 has Istana Nurul Iman and Kampong Ayer that is brown in color and $10000 is green in color depicting Bandar Seri Begawan. Coinage is in 5 denominations namely, 1, 3, 10, 20 and 50 sen.

The front sides have portraits of the sultans, while the reverse side of 1 sen has a bird, 5 sen has tree in the form of a bird, 10 sen has claw shape representing an animal, 20 sen representing a tree and 50 sen the Negara Brunei Darussalam crest.