The plan to issue a new banknote to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is mostly funded by foreign sponsors, the central bank revealed on Tuesday.

Four leading foreign banknote manufacturers from Germany, Switzerland, and France will cover expenses for the commemorative 100-dong banknote slated for issuing in May, SBV vice governor Dao Minh Tu told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The foreign sponsors will cover costs for rag papers, ink, and technology used in printing the bill, whereas Vietnam only carries out the actual printing process, which costs very little, Tu said.

The SBV said on Monday it will release the souvenir banknote, which will not be eligible for circulation, on May 6 in commemoration of its 65th anniversary (1951-2016).

Despite having no circulation value, the souvenir banknote will have to go through rigorous printing and issuing procedures like valid banknotes, Tu noted.

Tu added that SBV also had to submit the plan to the Prime Minister for approval before hand, but refused to disclose the printing expense as well as the amount of banknotes to be issued.

"Printing and issuing souvenir banknotes is a common practice in many countries," he said.

"The profit from selling these commemorative banknotes will contribute to the bank's revenue in accordance with current laws."

The SBV revealed earlier that the souvenir banknote is available for purchase as keepsake at VND20,000-25,000 apiece.

To read the complete article, see:
Vietnam's plan to issue commemorative banknote is foreign-funded: Cbank (http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/34132/vietnams-plan-to-issue-commemorative-banknote-is-foreignfunded-cbank)