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Lao kip
[[Image:1000 Laotian kip in 2003 Obverse.jpg 1000 Laotian kip in 2003 Reverse.jpg|252px|1000 kip issued in 2003]]
1000 kip issued in 2003
ISO 4217 Code LAK
User(s) Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic
Inflation 25.69%
Source Bank of the Lao P.D.R, September 2023.
Subunit
1100 att
Symbol ₭ or ₭N
Coins
Rarely used 10, 20, 50 att
Banknotes
Freq. used 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000 kip
Rarely used 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 kip
Lao kip
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Currency
Currency Lao kip
Category

The kip (Lao: ກີບ, romanized: kib; code: LAK; sign: or ₭N; French: kip; officially: ເງີນກີບລາວ, lit. "currency Lao kip") is the currency of Laos since 1955. Historically, one kip was divided into 100 att (ອັດ) which are no longer in regular use. The term derives from ກີບ kì:p, a Lao word meaning "ingot."

History

French Indochina

The piastre was the currency of French Indochina between 1885 and 1952.

Free Lao Kip (1946)

In 1945–1946, the Free Lao government in Vientiane issued a series of paper money in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att and 10 kip before the French authorities took control of the region.

Royal Kip (1955)

The kip was reintroduced in 1955, replacing the French Indochinese piastre at par. The kip (also called a piastre in French) was sub-divided into 100 att (Lao: ອັດ) or cents (French: Centimes). It was pegged to the French franc at a rate of 10 francs per kip.

On 10 October 1958, the kip's peg switched to the US dollar, and was officially devalued from ₭35 to ₭80 per US dollar: however, the official exchange rate did not reflect market conditions at the time, with the parallel rate reaching ₭600 per dollar by the end of 1963. Laos devalued the kip again on 1 January 1964, and adopted an official rate of ₭240 per dollar and a "free market" rate of about ₭505 per dollar: the free market rate then fell to ₭600 per dollar on 8 November 1971, with the official rate being abolished on 4 April 1972.

Pathet Lao Kip (1976)

The Pathet Lao introduced the "liberation kip" on 12 October 1968, for circulation in the areas that the group controlled. Banknotes for the liberation kip, which were printed in China, consisted of ₭1, ₭10, ₭20, ₭50, ₭100, ₭200 and ₭500.

According to the Pathet Lao's media outlet Siang Pasason, one liberation kip was worth 6 royal kip on 20 August 1975, three days before the Pathet Lao entered Vientiane. Based on historic exchange rates provided by the International Monetary Fund, one US dollar in 1975 was worth 725 royal kip or 120.83 liberation kip.

In 1976, the new communist Laotian government replaced the royal kip with the liberation kip. The exchange rate was 20 royal kip per liberation kip. A currency confiscation was carried out, where individuals could exchange up to 100,000 royal kip for liberation kip, and businesses up to one million royal kip; they had to deposit the rest in state-owned banks.

Lao PDR Kip (1979)

On 16 December 1979, the former Pathet Lao "liberation kip" was replaced by the new Lao kip at a rate of 100 to 1.

Coins

Royal Kip (1955)

Coins were issued in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att or cents with French and Lao inscriptions. All were struck in aluminum and had a hole in the centre, like the Chinese cash coins. The only year of issue was 1952.

Pathet Lao Kip (1976)

Coins

Coins were again issued in Laos for the first time in 28 years in 1980 with denominations of 10, 20 and 50 att, with each being struck in aluminum and depicting the state emblem on the obverse and agricultural themes on the reverse. These were followed by commemorative 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kip coins issued in 1985 for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. However, due to the economic toll of the Soviet collapse in 1991 and the persistence of chronic inflation, coins are rarely seen in circulation.

Obverse Reverse Value Obverse Reverse Composition Date of issue
10 Laotian att in 1980 Obverse.jpg 10 Laotian att in 1980 Reverse.jpg 10 att Value, farmer Emblem of Laos (1975-1991 version) Aluminum 1980
20 Laotian att in 1980 Obverse.jpg 20 Laotian att in 1980 Reverse.jpg 20 att Value, farmer ploughing with ox Emblem of Laos (1975-1991 version) Aluminum 1980
50 Laotian att in 1980 Obverse.jpg 50 Laotian att in 1980 Reverse.jpg 50 att Value, fish Emblem of Laos (1975-1991 version) Aluminum 1980

Banknotes

100 Kip (Laos, 1957)
100 kip, 1957 issue

In 1953, the Laos branch of the Institut d'Emission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam issued notes dual denominated in piastre and kip. At the same time, the two other branches had similar arrangements with the riel in Cambodia and the đồng in South Vietnam. There were notes for 1, 5, 10 and 100 kip/piastres.

In 1957, the government issued notes denominated solely in kip. The notes were for 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kip printed by the Security Banknote Company, 100 kip printed by the Banque de France and a commemorative 500 kip printed by De La Rue. 1 and 5 kip notes printed by Bradbury & Wilkinson, as well as 10 kip notes by De La Rue were introduced in 1962.

In 1963, 20, 50, 200 and 1000 kip notes were added, all printed by De La Rue. These were followed by 100, 500 and 5000 kip notes in 1974–75, again by De La Rue. 10 kip notes by Bradbury & Wilkinson and 1000 kip notes by De La Rue were printed but not circulated.

Pathet Lao Kip (1976)

Banknotes issued in 1975 or before in Pathet Lao controlled areas, and were in denominations of 1, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 kip.

Lao PDR Kip (1979)

In 1979, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 kip. 500 kip notes were added in 1988, followed by 1000 kip in 1992, 2000 and 5000 kip in 1997, 10,000 and 20,000 kip in 2002 and 50,000 kip on January 17, 2006 (although dated 2004). On November 15, 2010, a 100,000 kip banknote was issued to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the capital, Vientiane, and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992) is pictured on the obverse of the 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 kip banknotes.

The Bank of Laos governor announced on January 25, 2012, that the Bank of Laos would issue 100,000 Kip banknotes as a regular issue on February 1, 2012 (but dated 2011) to encourage Lao people to use the national currency instead of U.S. dollars and Thai baht. As of 2019, the ₭500 note is the smallest one commonly in circulation.

Current Series
Image Value Description Date of issue
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
1 Laotian kip in 1979 Obverse.jpg 1 Laotian kip in 1979 Reverse.jpg ₭1 Militia unit at left, arms at upper right. Classroom at left. 1979
5 Laotian kip in 1979 Obverse.jpg 5 Laotian kip in 1979 Reverse.jpg ₭5 Shopping Elephant-logging 1979
10 Laotian kip in 1979 Obverse.jpg 10 Laotian kip in 1979 Reverse.jpg ₭10 Lumber mill at left, arms at upper right. Hospital at left. 1979
20 Laotian kip in 1979 Obverse.jpg 20 Laotian kip in 1979 Reverse.jpg ₭20 Arms at left, tank with troop column at center. Textile mill at center. 1979
50 Laotian kip in 1979 Obverse.jpg 50 Laotian kip in 1979 Reverse.jpg ₭50 Rice-planting Hydroelectric dam 1979
100 Laotian kip in 1979 Obverse.jpg 100 Laotian kip in 1979 Reverse.jpg ₭100 Harvesting Bridge 1979
500 Laotian kip in 1988 Obverse.jpg 500 Laotian kip in 1988 Reverse.jpg ₭500 Irrigation Coffee bean harvesting 1988
₭500 Irrigation Coffee bean harvesting 2015
₭1,000 Women from the three major ethnic groups of Laos: Lao Lum, Lao Sung and Lao Theung, with Pha That Luang in the background. Cattle herd 1992-1996
1000 Laotian kip in 2003 Obverse.jpg 1000 Laotian kip in 2003 Reverse.jpg ₭1,000 Women from the three major ethnic groups of Laos: Lao Lum, Lao Sung and Lao Theung, with Pha That Luang in the background. Cattle herd 1998-2020
₭1,000 Women from the three major ethnic groups of Laos: Lao Lum, Lao Sung and Lao Theung, with Pha That Luang in the background. Cattle herd 2008
₭2,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992), Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang Hydroelectric complex in Xeset 1997-2003
2000 Laotian kip in 2011 Obverse.jpg 2000 Laotian kip in 2011 Reverse.jpg ₭2,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992), Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang Hydroelectric complex in Xeset 2011
5000 Laotian kip in 2003 Obverse.jpg 5000 Laotian kip in 2003 Reverse.jpg ₭5,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Cement factory in Vang Vieng 1997-2003
₭5,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Cement factory in Vang Vieng 2020
10000 Laotian kip in 2002 Obverse.jpg 10000 Laotian kip in 2002 Reverse.jpg ₭10,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Lao-Nippon bridge 2002-2003
₭10,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Lao-Nippon bridge 2020
20000 Laotian kip in 2003 Obverse.jpg 20000 Laotian kip in 2003 Reverse.jpg ₭20,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Haw Phra Kaew Temple Theun Hinboun hydroelectric power plant 2002-2003
₭20,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Haw Phra Kaew Temple Theun Hinboun hydroelectric power plant 2020
50000 Laotian kip in 2004 Obverse.jpg 50000 Laotian kip in 2004 Reverse.jpg ₭50,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Presidential Palace 2004
₭50,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Presidential Palace 2020
100000 Laotian kip in 2011 Obverse.jpg 100000 Laotian kip in 2011 Reverse.jpg ₭100,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang President Kaysone Phomevihane Statue and Museum [1] in Vientiane 2011
100.000 Laotian kip in 2020 Obverse.jpg 100.000 Laotian kip in 2020 Reverse.jpg ₭100,000 President Kaysone Phomvihane; Pha That Luang Viengxay caves in Houaphanh Province 2020
Commemorative Banknotes
Image Value Description Date of issue Series Designation
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
100000 Laotian kip in 2010 450th Aniversary of Founding of Vientiane & 35th Anniversary of PDR of Laos Obverse.jpg 100000 Laotian kip in 2010 450th Aniversary of Founding of Vientiane & 35th Anniversary of PDR of Laos Reverse.jpg ₭100,000 Statue of King Setthathirath, Pha That Luang, Dok Champa flower and Nāga. Haw Phra Kaew Temple 2010 P-40

Lao kip exchange rate

Current LAK exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD THB VND
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD THB VND
From XE.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD THB VND
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD THB VND
From fxtop.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD THB VND
Date US Dollar
exchange rate
1 September 1997 1,021
1 September 1998 3,408
1 September 1999 7,680
1 September 2000 7,527
3 September 2001 7,600
2 September 2002 7,562
1 September 2003 7,562
1 December 2004 7,842
1 September 2005 10,380
1 September 2006 10,033
3 September 2007 9,580
1 September 2008 8,500
1 September 2009 8,477
1 September 2010 8,100
1 September 2011 8,000
3 September 2012 7,968
2 September 2013 7,838
1 September 2014 8,034
1 September 2015 8,135
1 September 2016 8,088
30 July 2017 8,300
30 July 2018 8,402
4 January 2019 8,550.97
1 September 2020 8,906.86
1 September 2021 9,354.13
1 September 2022 15,186.4
12 May 2022 15,505.80
20 February 2024 20,800


See also

  • Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viet-nam
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