Myanmar to release new top-denomination banknote

Note will commemorate white elephant, as opposition accuses government of monetary financing

Central Bank of Myanmar
Central Bank of Myanmar
Photo: Bjoertvedt/Wikimedia Commons

Myanmar’s central bank will introduce a new 20,000 kyat banknote, it announced on July 24. The note will become the highest-value paper money in circulation.

The new bill carries an image of Rattha Mandaka, a white elephant born in July 2022. The note will mark the elephant’s first birthday.

In parts of South-east Asia, white elephants are seen as symbols of good fortune. An official newspaper, the Global New Light of Myanmar, described Rattha Mandaka as the “precious white elephant beloved by

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