When looking at Asian currencies, three primary monetary units are used, known as the ASEAN10+3, which are component currencies.  Within this are currencies for Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, and China.  While there are many other Asian currencies to include Jordan, Afghan, Egypt, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey to name a few, we wanted to provide information as to currencies for the countries that make up the primary monetary units.

•    Brunei – This currency is known as the Brunei dollar or in Malay, the Ringgit Brunei.  The currency code for this currency is BND, which has been the Sultanate of Brunei currency since 1967.  Usually, the symbol used is $ although some people prefer B$.  Additionally, this currency is managed along with the Singapore dollar by the Monetary Authority of Singapore with a ratio of 1:1.

•    Cambodia – On our list of Asian currencies is the Cambodia riel.  Interestingly, the first riel was issued sometime from 1953 to 1975 and the second riel in April of 1980.  From 1975 to 1980, Cambodia had no monetary system in place and today while the riel is the country’s currency, the United States dollar is used.

•    Indonesia – In this country, the rupiah is the official currency used.  This currency is issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia and has the currency code of IDR.  However, when looking at coins and banknotes, the symbol used is Rp.  The name for the rupiah comes from India’s currency rupee.

•    Laos – In Laos, kip is the official currency, which is listed under the currency code of LAK.  This currency has been used in Laos since 1952, which is set up so one kip equals 100 att.

•    Malaysia – Another of the Asian currencies is the official currency of ringgit in Malaysia.  Initially, this country used the Malaysian dollar, which changed, now being issued by the Bank of Negara Malaysia.  The currency code for the ringgit is MYR, which is set up as one ringgit equaling 100 sen or cents.

•    Myanmar – In this country, the currency is the kyat, which was first introduced in 1889.  Listed as the currency code of MMK, the kyat is often abbreviated simply as “K”, which is positioned just prior to the numerical value of the currency.

•    Philippines – In the Philippines, the currency used is the peso.  Listed as PHP for the currency code, the Philippines peso is subdivided into 100 centavos or cents in Spanish or sentimo, 100 cents in Filipino.  Prior to 1967, the Philippines peso was written in English but after that time, the Filipino language was used.  For this reason, older banknotes have the word “peso” for the American language and newer banknotes show “piso”, the spelling for the Filipino language.

•    Singapore – Next on our list of Asian currencies is the Singapore dollar.  Using the currency code SGD, some people will simply use the $ or $$, while others will use S$.  This currency like others is divided into 100 cents, meaning one Singapore dollar equals 100 cents or $1 US dollar.

•    Thailand – The Thai Baht is the official currency of Thailand with the currency code of THB.  This particular currency is issued by the Bank of Thailand and divided into 100 satang or cents.

•    Vietnam – In this country, the dong is the currency used, which was first introduced in May of 1978.  Vietnam’s currency is listed with the currency code of VND, which is issued by the State Bank of Vietnam.  In this case, the dong is subdivided into 10 hao, although with hao having virtually no value, it is no longer issued.

•    Japan – One of the most powerful and traded of all Asian currencies or any currency in the world is the Japanese yen.  The currency code is JPY and of all traded currencies, it ranks at the number three spot.  In addition, the Japanese yen is widely used as a reserve currency and is common when counting in eastern Asia.

•    South Korea – The South Korean won has the currency code of KRW, which is set up so one won equals 100 jeon, which is the country’s monetary subunit.  However, the jeon is no longer used for daily transactions and in fact, the jeon is only seen in connection to foreign exchange rates.

•    China – The last of the Asian currencies is the China yuan.  For this, the currency code is CNY, which is similar to the renminbi currency in the same way the pound and sterling are linked.  The yuan is divided into 10 jiao or mao, which is then divided into 10 fen, also called sen, which is the same as the American word “cent”.