The Bank of the Lao P.D.R. () is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. It is also the bank of last resort, controlling the money supply, managing the country's reserves, and supervising the commercial banks operating in Laos. The bank is managed by an executive board, a governor and a deputy governor. The current governor is Bounkham Vorachit. The Bank of Laos was formed on and has been operating since in the country's capital,

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

. It succeeded the National Bank of Laos, which itself had taken over in early 1955 from the French-controlled

Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viet-nam The Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viet-nam (), also known as the Institut d'Émission des États Associés, was a short-lived currency board operating in French Indochina in 1952–1954. Overview The institute was es ...

Governors

; managing director of the National Bank (1975–1983) * Thongchanh Uparavanh, 2 December 1975 – 1977 * Nouphanh Sithphasai, 1978–1980 * Khamphoui Keoboualapha, 1980 (3 months) *

Soth Phetrasy Soth Phetrasy (1915–2004) was a leading official of the Pathet Lao, the communist guerrilla movement of Laos associated with the Lao People's Party, during the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Soth Phetrasy was born in 1915. Phetrasy was an importan ...

, 1980–1983 ; Chairman of the State Bank (1983–1990) * Bousabong Souvannavong, 1983–1987 * Nouphanh Sithphasai, 1987–1988 *

Pany Yathotou Pany Yathotou (; born 18 February 1951) is a Laotian politician and member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. She was the chairwoman and governor of the Bank of the Lao P.D.R., the country's central bank, from 1988 until 1997. Yathotou l ...

, 1988–1990 ; Governor of the State Bank (1990–present) *

, 1990–1992 * Bousabong Souvannavong, 1993–1994 *

, 1995–1997 * Cheuang Sombounkhanh, 1997–1999 * Soukanh Mahalath, 1999–2001 * Phoupheth Khamphounevong, 2001–2002 (acting) * Chanhsy Phosikham, 25 April 2002 – 1 February 2003 * Phoumy Thipphavone, 21 February 2003 – 2005 * Phoupheth Khamphounevong, 2006–2009 * Somphao Phaysith, 2009–2018 * Bounkham Vorachit, incumbent Source:

Lao PDR Kip (1979)

On 16 December 1979, the old Pathet Lao “Liberation” kip was replaced by the new Lao kip at a rate of 100 to 1.

Coins

Coins were again issued in Laos for the first time in 28 years in 1980 with denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att, with each being struck in aluminum and depicting the state emblem on the obverse and agricultural themes on the reverse. These were followed by commemorative 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kip in 1985 for the 10 year anniversary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. However, due to the economic toll of the Soviet collapse in 1991 and the persistence of

chronic inflation Chronic inflation is an economic phenomenon occurring when a country experiences high inflation for a prolonged period (several years or decades) due to continual increases in the money supply among other things. In countries with chronic infla ...

, there are no coins currently in circulation in Laos.

Banknotes

In 1979, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 kip. 500 kip notes were added in 1988, followed by 1000 kip in 1992, 2000 and 5000 kip in 1997, 10,000 and 20,000 kip in 2002 and 50,000 kip on January 17, 2006 (although dated 2004). On November 15, 2010, a 100,000 kip banknote was issued to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the capital,

and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Kaysone Phomvihane Kaysone Phomvihane (''Kraisorn Brahmavihara;'' , ; 13 December 1920 – 21 November 1992) was the first General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, leader of the Communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 1955 until his de ...

is pictured on the obverse of the 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 kip banknotes. The Bank of Laos governor announced on January 25, 2012, that the Bank of Laos would issue 100,000 Kip banknotes as a regular issue on February 1, 2012 (but dated 2011) to encourage Lao people to use the national currency instead of

U.S. dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

and

Thai baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

.Laos new 100,000 kip note confirmed
BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-03.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Bank of Laos Government of Laos Economy of Laos