China upgrades 5th edition of its currency

BEIJING - The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, has upgraded the fifth edition of the renminbi (RMB), the Chinese currency, and on Monday announced the issuing of the new batch from Aug 30.

The new issuance will include notes with a face value of 50 yuan ($7), 20 yuan, 10 yuan and one yuan, and coins valued one yuan, 50 fen and 10 fen.

Compared with the current series in circulation, the new batch will see brighter colors and adjusted patterns with enhanced anti-conterfeiting feature, a PBOC official said.

The five-yuan note will not be in the upcoming issuance as new technologies on the note are still under testing. The 100-yuan note was issued in November 2015, which has shown improved anti-conterfeiting capability, said the PBOC source.

Financial institutions and companies with cash businesses are upgrading their machines to identify and adapt to the newly-designed RMB notes, the PBOC said.