Thursday, September 25, 2014

History of Indonesian Currency

History of Indonesian Currency
Dated 2 November 1949 is the day of the enactment of dollars as the official currency of the Indonesian rupiah and printed as well as its use is governed by Bank Indonesia. Although at that time the Riau Islands and West Irian rupiah has their own variation, but their use was dissolved in 1964 in Riau and 1974 in West Irian.

The government sees the need to spend their own currencies in addition to functioning as a legal tender is also used as the main symbol of which is already independent state. The words "dollars" is derived from the word "rupee", the currency of India. Indonesia has been using Dutch guilders currency from 1610 until 1817 After 1817, introduced the Netherlands Indies Gulden currency.

Rupiah was first officially introduced at the time of Japanese occupation during World War 2, with the name of the Dutch East Indies dollars. After the end of the war, the Bank of Java (Javaans Bank, next to Bank Indonesia) introduced the Java rupiah currency as a substitute. NICA gulden currency created by the Allies and some currencies were printed collection of guerrilla also apply at that time.

Currency is the currency may be exchanged for free, but traded with the penalty due to the high levels of inflation. New Currency in the history of the value of money functions and the types of money and making turns through many stories and long history in the country of Indonesia

Economic situation in Indonesia at the beginning of independence marked by hyperinflation due to the circulation of several currencies that are not controlled, while the Government of the Republic of Indonesia does not have a currency. There are three currencies were declared valid by the government of the Republic of Indonesia on October 1, 1945, the Japanese currency, the currency of the Dutch East Indies, and currency De Javasche Bank.

Among the three currencies that exchange rate experienced a sharp decline is Japan's currency. Its circulation reached four billion so that the Japanese currency is the source of hyperinflation. Society that suffer most are farmers, because they are the most widely store the Japanese currency.

Economic chaos caused by hyperinflation exacerbated by policy AFNEI Commander (Allied Forces Netherlands East Indies) Lieutenant General Sir Montagu Stopford is on March 6, 1946 declaring the NICA currency in all parts of Indonesia that has been occupied by troops AFNEI. This policy was protested by the Indonesian government, for violating the agreement that each party shall not issue a new currency for the absence of a political settlement. But the outcry was ignored by AFNEI. AFNEI NICA currency used to finance military operations in Indonesia and simultaneously disrupt the national economy, so it would appear the crisis of people's faith in the ability of the Indonesian government to overcome problems of national economy.

Because the protest is not addressed, then the Indonesian government issued a policy that banned all Indonesian people using NICA currency as a medium of exchange. This step is very important because NICA currency in circulation outside the control of the government of Indonesia, making it difficult for national economic recovery.

Therefore AFNEI not revoke the application of the NICA currency, then on October 26, 1946 the Indonesian government imposed a new currency ORI (Oeang Republic of Indonesia) as legal tender throughout the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. Since that time the Japanese currency, the currency of the Dutch East Indies and De Javasche Bank currency is no longer valid. Thus there are only two valid currency that ORI and NICA. Each currency is only recognized by the issuing. So ORI is only recognized by the government of the Republic of Indonesia and the NICA only currency recognized by AFNEI. People turned out to give more support to the ORI. It has a political impact that more people favor the Indonesian government of the interim government who only supported AFNEI NICA.

To set the exchange rate with a foreign currency ORI in Indonesia, the government of the Republic of Indonesia on 1 November 1946 to change the leadership of the Foundation Center Tanuwijaya Djojohadikusomo Bank to Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI). A few months earlier the government had also changed the Japanese occupation government banks Shomin Ginko into Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Tyokin Me into the Post Office Savings (KTP), which changed its name in June 1949 became Postal savings bank and finally in 1950 to the State Savings Bank (BTN). All this serves as a bank commercial bank which is run by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. Its main function is to collect and distribute funds or public money as well as service providers in the payment traffic.

Long before the arrival of the western nations, the archipelago has become a center of international trade. While in mainland Europe appears simple banking institutions, such as Bank van Leening in the Netherlands. The banking system was then taken by the western nations that expands the archipelago at the same time. VOC in Java in 1746 founded the Bank van De Leening which later became De Bank Courant en Bank van Leening in 1752 the Bank was the first bank that was born in the archipelago, the precursor of the banking sector in the future. On January 24, 1828, the Dutch East Indies government established a bank circulation under the name De Javasche Bank (DJB). Over the decades, the bank operated and developed by a Oktroi of the ruler of the Netherlands, until finally enacted Wet DJB 1922.

Japanese occupation period has stopped banking DJB and the Dutch East Indies for a while. Then the revolution came, the Dutch East Indies experiencing duality of power, between the Republic of Indonesia (RI) and the Nederlandsche Indische Civil Administrative (NICA). Banking was divided into two, DJB and Dutch banks in the region whereas NICA "Jajasan Poesat Bank Indonesia" and Bank Negara Indonesia in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. Round Table Conference (RTC) in 1949 ended the conflict Indonesia and the Netherlands, then DJB defined as the central bank of the Republic of Indonesia (RIS). This status continued to survive until the return of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia. Next as a nation and a sovereign state, the Republic of Indonesia nationalized central bank. So since July 1, 1953 DJB transformed into Bank Indonesia, the central bank of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Asian economic crisis of 1998 led to the exchange rate of the rupiah fell to 35% and the weakening rupiah economic situation in Indonesia is lowered.