The circulation and supply of Riel, the National Currency of Cambodia, have remarkably increased, according to a senior official of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC).

The supply of Riel to NBC provincial branches increased by 29.3 percent and its return rate was 20.2 percent, he said at the recent NBC’s annual meeting.

At the same time, NBC also found 4,751 fake banknotes, most of them were 10,000-Riel banknote, he underlined.

Currently, there are 29 different Riel banknotes, of which two for 100,000 Riel; three for 50,000 Riel; two for 20,000 Riel; three for 10,000 Riel; three for 5,000 Riel; three for 2,000 Riel; five for 1,000 Riel; three for 500 Riel; one for 200 Riel, three for 100 Riel and one for 50 Riel.

According to NBC, Cambodian currency – the Riel – appeared in 1955, when it replaced the formerly used Indochinese piastres. During the government of Pol Pot in 1975-1979, the monetary circulation and banking system were dismissed; all that restored by 1979. 1 Riel equals 100 cents, then it has developed through different regimes.

Today, the official exchange rate is 4,015 Riel / US$1.