PHNOM PENH, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has seen a big jump in the use of local currency Riel over the past two decades, National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)'s Governor Chea Serey said here on Friday.
With the objective of de-dollarizing the economy based on the market mechanism and on a gradual approach, the NBC has implemented various policy measures to promote the Riel since the early 2000s, she said in a speech during the launch of a book on Cambodian dollarization.
As a result, the demand for Riel has gradually expanded, Serey said.
"The amount of Riel in circulation has increased from 0.85 trillion Riel (about 211 million U.S. dollars) 20 years ago to 14.5 trillion Riel (about 3.51 billion U.S. dollars) today," she added.
The governor said the use of Riel has gradually increased in terms of deposits, credits, and payment transactions in the Southeast Asian country.
She added that the policy to stabilize the value of Riel, along with peace and political stability, has lifted confidence and trust in the Riel.
"The macroeconomic stability, coupled with solid policy commitment, has created a strong foundation to regain public confidence in local currency in the economy, especially an increasing role of Riel for large value payments and savings," she said.
The U.S. dollars flooded into the Cambodian economy through the intervention of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in their peace operations in the country in 1993, during which UNTAC spent 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to about 75 percent of Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) at that time, mostly on rent and local services. ■
