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Tongan Pa'anga
Overview
The Pa’anga is the currency of the Tonga and is governed by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga. The Pa’anga is not convertible and is pegged to a basket of currencies including the Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, US Dollar, and the Japanese Yen.
Economy
- The manufacturing sector of Tonga consists of handicrafts and a few other small-scale industries, all of which account for only about 3% of GDP.
- Commercial business activities also are on a small scale and are dominated to a large extent by the same large trading companies found throughout the South Pacific.
- Tonga’s economy is characterized by a large no monetary sector and a heavy dependence on remittances from the half of the country's population that lives abroad, chiefly in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
- Much of the monetary sector of the economy is dominated, if not owned, by the royal family and nobles. This is especially true of the telecommunications and satellite services.
- Most of the small business activity, particularly retailing on Tongatapu, is now dominated by recent Chinese immigrants who arrived under a cash-for-passports scheme that ended in 1998.
History
- The Pa’anga was introduced on April 3, 1967. It replaced the Pound at a rate of 2 Pa’anga = 1 Pound.
- In September, 1974, the country's first commercial trading bank, the Bank of Tonga, opened.
- Until February 11, 1991 the Pa’anga was pegged to the Australian Dollar at par. Since then, it has been pegged to a basket of currencies and has steadily declined.
Symbols and Names
- Symbols: T$
- Nicknames: none
ISO 4217 Code
TOP
Central Bank
Currency Subunits
- Seniti = 1/100 of a Pa'anga
Denominations
- Bills: T$1, T$2, T$5, T$10, T$20, T$50, T$100
- Coins: 1¢, 2¢, 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢
Countries Using This Currency
- Tonga
Currencies Pegged To TOP :
None
TOP Is Pegged To:
None