Portal:Indonesia/AOTW/40, 2006

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The Rupiah (Rp) is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR. The symbol used on all banknotes and coins are Rp. The name derives from the Indian monetary unit rupee. Informally, Indonesians also using the word "perak" (Silver in Bahasa Indonesia) in referring to rupiah.

The first rupiah was introduced in 1945 although during the Indonesian War of Independence (1945-1949), the rupiah circulated alongside the Netherlands Indies gulden (including issues of the Japanese government, the Javanese Bank (Java rupiah) and the Dutch Government (NICA gulden)) and the Netherlands Indies roepiah, which had also been issued by the Japanese government. By the end of 1949, the Republic's Rupiah replaced the other currencies throughout Indonesia.

The rupiah is a freely convertible currency, but trades at a discount compared to its PPP-based valuation, due to continued high inflation. As of August 2006, 1 USD is worth approximately Rp 9,100. Inside Indonesia the preferred currency for exchange is the US dollar. Other currencies are typically subject to a wide exchange spread. (Read more...)