http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/20/uk-myanmar-currency-idUSTRE8250CB20120320

(Reuters) - Myanmar's central bank plans to set the country's new exchange rate at around 820 kyat per U.S. dollar, close to its black market level, as the nation pushes ahead with economic reforms, two officials with private Myanmar banks said on Tuesday.

Didn't you use to have to exchange a small amount of money upon entering at some crazy low rate? I'm guessing this will change that???

Hotel exchange rate: Kyat 700 per USD and non-official exchange-rate Kyat 800 per USD (19-3-2012).

Off topic: 4.5 liter of diesel is Kyat 3,500..........or USD 4.27. (Yangon City Center)

Same level as Thailand.

There was never a crazy low rate you had to exchange.

A long time urban myth invented by some media in the West.

There was never a crazy low rate you had to exchange.

A long time urban myth invented by some media in the West.

It was the FECs I was thinking of. You had to exchange $200 upon entry into FECs at a low exchange rate. And many government services only used the FECs. But I believe they stopped that practice a number of years ago. Luckily.

There was never a crazy low rate you had to exchange.

A long time urban myth invented by some media in the West.

It was the FECs I was thinking of. You had to exchange $200 upon entry into FECs at a low exchange rate. And many government services only used the FECs. But I believe they stopped that practice a number of years ago. Luckily.

one had the option to book and pay a fancy price for a hotel or change Dollars at an artificially low rate on arrival.

There was never a crazy low rate you had to exchange.

A long time urban myth invented by some media in the West.

It was the FECs I was thinking of. You had to exchange $200 upon entry into FECs at a low exchange rate. And many government services only used the FECs. But I believe they stopped that practice a number of years ago. Luckily.

The previous requirement was to change 200 USD for 200 FEC, which was accepted by hotels etc with sometimes only a marginal loss of value. In fact at one point the FEC was worth more than the USD on the black market (although this may be an urban myth)

There was never a crazy low rate you had to exchange.

A long time urban myth invented by some media in the West.

It was the FECs I was thinking of. You had to exchange $200 upon entry into FECs at a low exchange rate. And many government services only used the FECs. But I believe they stopped that practice a number of years ago. Luckily.

one had the option to book and pay a fancy price for a hotel or change Dollars at an artificially low rate on arrival.

---------------------------

Knew a Burmese woman living in Bangkok about 1985 or so.

She made 2 or 3 trips to Burma each year then.

She told me there were sources in Bangkok...most of the Burmese living in Thailand knew them...where you could buy Kyat at a Black Market rate.

Many of the Burmese living in Thailand bought their money for trips to Burma from them...and they only exchanged a few dollars, pounds, or Baht at the official government rate on entry into Burma...to provide a legal answer to the question. "And where did you get your Kyat?" if asked that by some government official.

Not sure if those sources would deal with a non Burmese however.

-------------------------

It was the FECs I was thinking of. You had to exchange $200 upon entry into FECs at a low exchange rate. And many government services only used the FECs. But I believe they stopped that practice a number of years ago. Luckily.

Wrong again.

At some time in the past you were required to change 200US$ into 200FEC.

These FEC could be used to pay for hotels, planes, trains and entrance fees.

Nothing like a "low exchange rate". 1 FEC = 1 US$.

If have done it several times and it was a non-issue. Only some cheap charlies complained because they would not use up 200US$ during their whole trip.

I just went twice in the last couple of months, and no FECs were required.

There are three exchange rates:

Official exchange rate (which is used for their economic data)

De-facto exchange rate (about 800 kyat to the dollar; got only 760 last time at the hotel but it was just before midnight)

Customs exchange rate (which is used to calculate import duties)

The first time, I did not exchange any money, the USD was accepted. The second time, I did exchange money but paid in USD in many places and had the feeling other places would have readily accepted dollars. Even the taxi drivers were not shy to accept dollars.

Carry your USD and change at the bank. They will buy at -0.8% from central bank daily rate. Now you can bring in 10k usd officially. Do not exchange after banks are closed at outside market. because once the banks are closed, they will bring down the exchange rate.

So, Burma is not going to have a market economy say like Singapore. It will be going the way of sicialist USA and limit cash movement to piddly amounts like this is 1980. Ten thousand dollars is chump change.