CURRENCY CONVERTIBILITY
Page 29
The rupee has arrived. Long before the domestic currency gets the `convertible‟ tag,
it‟s being freely accepted and exchanged in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong
Kong, Sri Lanka and other countries. Till now, such transactions were confined to
select departmental stores which are favourite of Indian tourists; now more and more
shops, hotels and even money changers are willing to accept the local legal tender.
This means no double conversions, and therefore, extra cost while exchanging
Indian rupees. This may not be quite legal since in the international money market,
the rupee is still not a deliverable currency. Nonetheless, its acceptance is on the rise,
thanks to growing trade with India and a surge in tourist inflows.
It has certainly made things easier for the Indian tourists who can simply carry
rupees, and do away with travelers cheques. In most Asian countries, the nearest
`money exchange‟ shop will give them the local currency against rupees. Many feel
the trend has picked with hints that convertibility may be matter of time.
Travel agents, in India, say that since many Indians are travelling abroad, especially
to Asian countries, many banks and foreign exchange agents abroad have started
accepting Indian rupees. Tarmo Wong, a manager with `money exchange‟ shop in
one of the biggest hotels in Singapore, said, “We have orders to accept the Rs 500
and Rs 1,000 bills. We have been doing this for almost 6-8 months now.” Some of
the `money changers‟ in Singapore have a similar view.
Interestingly, in the small, but growing parallel market, the conversion rates have
become finer for the Indian traveler or the business tourist. Earlier, a handful of
outfits accepted the Indian rupee and usually the buy/sell spread was high.