A $10 bill to foil forgers and fill lai see packets
A new $10 note is to be issued by the Government in response to overwhelming demand for the currency as lai see gifts, Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung said yesterday.
The burgundy note will be printed in the Netherlands and issued by the Government rather than the three note-issuing banks.
'We have seen the public has a strong interest in the $10 note, particularly during the Chinese New Year period when people like to use it for lai see,' Mr Leung said. The note, to be launched in September, will bear the date July 1, 2002, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the handover. It will also carry the signatures of Mr Leung and Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC stopped issuing $10 notes after the Government introduced $10 coins in 1994 in the belief this would stop counterfeiting.
However, bogus $10 coins have become widespread, with 160,000 fake coins seized in the first quarter of the year - three times up on last year.
Existing $10 notes and coins will remain legal tender.
The new note is smaller than other SAR notes, features a futuristic design and is coated with a plastic-like material. It has a number of security features such as a watermark and a see-through picture of a horse.
Mr Leung said the note-issuing banks were offered the chance to issue the new note but declined.
