The news that K20,000 banknotes were officially distributed among the public was not true, announced the State Administration Council (SAC) on the afternoon of July 31.

There are reports that K20,000 notes have been officially issued and can be used legally among the public and this is the response of the SAC to the question of some local news outlets whether the circulation of K20,000 notes among the public officially is true or not.

"First of all, we must reply that the news of the circulation of K20,000 notes is not true," the SAC replied.

K20,000 notes were being circulated to commemorate the completion of the Maravijaya Buddha Image and to mark the one year anniversary of the birth of white elephant on July 31, announced the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) on July 23, 2023.

This banknote will be issued in a limited amount and will be distributed only by exchanging the old banknotes that should not be used among the circulating banknotes. The Central Bank of Myanmar has announced that it will be exchanged at places where old banknotes are exchanged, such as Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay.

The current notes and coins will continue to be legal tender, the statement said.

The colour of the K20,000 note is green and has 15 cm in length and 7 cm in width. In the center of the obverse is a white elephant, and the value of the banknote is printed on the right side.

The value of the note is printed in Myanmar and English languages and 12 short lines of tactile feature are printed on the left and right sides of the banknote to help people with visual impairments to sense it by touch, announced the CBM.

The illustration of the Ayeyawady Bridge (Yadanarpon) and the Sagaing Bridge were shown on the back, and if viewed from different angles, the security thread that changes from gold to green is embedded vertically, according to the CBM’s statement.