Interpretation of the meaning of foreign exchange

Foreign exchange payment voucher expressed in foreign currency for international settlement. The International Monetary Fund's interpretation of foreign exchange is that foreign exchange is a creditor's right held by monetary management authorities (central bank, monetary institutions, foreign exchange stabilization fund and Ministry of Finance) in the form of bank deposits, treasury bonds and long-term and short-term government securities. Can be used when the balance of payments is in deficit. China's "Provisional Regulations on Foreign Exchange Management" explains the contents of foreign exchange as follows: ① Foreign currency, including banknotes and coins; Foreign currency securities, including government bonds, government bonds, corporate bonds, stocks, coupons, etc. ; Foreign currency payment vouchers, including bills, bank deposit vouchers and postal savings vouchers. ; ④ Other foreign exchange funds.

[Edit this paragraph] concept

The concept of foreign exchange has a double meaning, that is, there are dynamic and static points.

The static concept of foreign exchange is divided into narrow foreign exchange concept and broad foreign exchange concept.

In a narrow sense, foreign exchange refers to various means of payment expressed in foreign currency, which are generally accepted by all countries and can be used for international settlement of creditor's rights and debts. It must have three characteristics: affordability (assets that must be expressed in foreign currency), availability (claims that can be compensated abroad) and convertibility (foreign currency assets that can be freely converted into other means of payment).

Foreign exchange in a broad sense refers to all assets owned by a country in foreign currency. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines this as: "Foreign exchange is the creditor's rights held by monetary management authorities (central bank, monetary management institutions, foreign exchange stabilization fund and the Ministry of Finance) in the form of bank deposits, treasury bonds and long-term and short-term government securities. It can be used when there is a deficit in the balance of payments. " China's Regulations on Foreign Exchange Management, revised and promulgated in 1997, stipulates: "Foreign exchange refers to the following means of payment and assets expressed in foreign currencies that can be used for international settlement: (1) foreign currencies, including coins and banknotes; (2) Foreign currency payment vouchers, including bills, bank deposit vouchers and postal savings vouchers; Foreign currency securities, including government bonds, treasury bonds, corporate bonds, stocks, coupons, etc. ; (4) Special Drawing Rights and European Monetary Units; (5) Other foreign exchange assets. "

The dynamic concept of foreign exchange refers to the flow of money between countries and a specialized commercial activity of exchanging one country's currency for another to pay off international creditor's rights and debts. It is the abbreviation of foreign exchange.

[Edit this paragraph] category

Foreign exchange is basically divided into two categories: ① Free foreign exchange. Foreign exchange that can be freely bought and sold in the international market, used at any time, and freely converted into other countries' currencies without the approval of the issuing country. It can be widely used and circulated as a means of payment in international communication, such as US dollar, British pound, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, German mark and other major western currencies. ② bookkeeping of foreign exchange. Foreign exchange that cannot be freely converted into other countries' currencies without the approval of the competent department. Bookkeeping foreign exchange can usually only be used between the two countries according to the agreement. Generally, it is only credited to the bank accounts of both parties, and cannot be transferred to a third country for use or converted into free foreign exchange.

China's foreign exchange

According to the degree of foreign exchange control

(1) cash, the four kinds of foreign exchange referred to in China's Provisional Regulations on Foreign Exchange Management are all cash, which can be used as a means of payment for international settlement immediately; (2) foreign exchange quota, that is, foreign exchange indicators approved by the state. If you want to change the index into cash, you must buy cash from a designated bank in RMB according to the exchange rate announced by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and use it for the specified purpose.

By the nature of the transaction

(1) Trade foreign exchange, which comes from import and export payment and auxiliary expenses related to import and export trade, such as foreign exchange used for freight, insurance, sample fees, publicity and promotion fees, etc.;

(2) Non-trade foreign exchange, foreign exchange receipts and payments other than import and export trade, such as remittance, tourism, ports, civil aviation, insurance, banking, foreign contracted projects, etc.

According to the right to use foreign exchange

① Central foreign exchange is generally controlled by the State Planning Commission and allocated to the central ministries and commissions, and directly allocated to local trading companies or other relevant units through the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, but the right to use it still belongs to the central ministries and commissions or their subordinate units;

(2) Local foreign exchange refers to the fixed amount of foreign exchange allocated by the central government to all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government every year, which is mainly used for key projects or allocated to districts, counties and bureaus, and no foreign exchange is left;

(3) Special foreign exchange, the State Planning Commission shall allocate and designate foreign exchange for special purposes at any time as needed.

According to other classification methods

(1) foreign exchange retention, in order to encourage the enthusiasm of enterprises to earn foreign exchange, after the foreign exchange earned by enterprises is sold to the state, a certain proportion of foreign exchange (designated amount) will be returned to the foreign exchange earning units and their competent departments or places for use according to state regulations;

(2) adjusting foreign exchange, that is, adjusting foreign exchange used by each other through the foreign exchange adjustment center;

(three) free foreign exchange, that is, foreign exchange accumulated by enterprises approved by the state;

(4) Operating foreign exchange that can be offset by income with the approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange;

(5) The revolving foreign exchange quota and one-time-use foreign exchange quota refer to the foreign exchange quota that has not been used up within the prescribed time limit and must be turned over at maturity, and the revolving foreign exchange quota can continue to be used after being used once;

⑥ Resident foreign exchange and non-resident foreign exchange, the foreign exchange of domestic organs, armed forces, organizations, enterprises and institutions, and China people, foreigners and stateless persons living in China belong to resident foreign exchange, and the foreign exchange brought in or remitted from abroad by diplomatic agencies, consular offices, commercial institutions, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and their resident personnel in China belong to non-resident foreign exchange.

English abbreviations of foreign exchange in various countries:

[1] USD, Deutsche Mark, Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Swiss Franc, FRF, ITL, NLG, BEC. Canadian dollar (CAD), Australian dollar (AUD), New Zealand dollar (NZD), Singapore dollar (SIN), Macau dollar (MOP), Malaysian ringgit (MYR), etc.

Major foreign exchange

From the perspective of foreign exchange trading, a currency must continuously buy and sell foreign exchange, which needs to meet the following three main conditions: (1) The holder must believe this function with storage value. (2) This currency must be used as a means of pricing in international trade. (3) This currency must be the medium of transaction. At present, there are more than 150 countries in the world, of which about 30 currencies are actively traded. Only these 30 currencies, if each currency has 29 exchange rates against other currencies, there will be 435 different exchange rates. At present, the basic pattern of important foreign exchange in the world foreign exchange market is that the basic pricing relationship between most currencies is still dominated by the US dollar, and the international status of the US dollar is related to the strong development strength of the United States and the history of the formation and development of the international exchange rate system. Japan's economic leap and considerable strength have stabilized and expanded the position of the yen. Euro is a newborn. The strong stamina of European unification policy and its inherent economic strength determine that the euro will surely become an important currency to dominate the foreign exchange market together with the US dollar and the Japanese yen in the 2 1 century.

Asian central banks control half of the global foreign exchange reserves. Chinese mainland's foreign exchange reserves have reached more than 960 billion US dollars, followed by Taiwan Province Province and Hongkong, and Japanese foreign exchange reserves have reached nearly one trillion US dollars. The growth trend of Asian countries is making the balance of power in the international monetary system develop in a favorable direction in Asia.

(1) USD

The right to issue US dollars belongs to the US Treasury, and the specific issue is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve Bank. At present, there are seven kinds of banknotes in circulation, such as 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan. Another 65,438+0 yuan equals 65,438+000 cents. At present, there are 1928, 1934, 1935, 1950, 1953 and 1963 in circulation in the United States. Paper money is 15.6×6.6 cm regardless of denomination. The front of each banknote is printed with the name of the certificate, the name of the United States, the seal of the United States Treasury Department and the signature of the official of the Ministry of Finance. The front of the bill is a famous figure in American history, and the back is a picture. In addition, there are denominations above 500 yuan and 500 yuan, and the circulation is extremely limited. All versions starting from 1963 will have a sentence "In the God we trust" printed on the top or bottom of the back screen. 1996, the United States began to issue new banknotes with anti-counterfeiting features. The first issue is 100 yuan coupon. The central letter or Arabic numerals in the pattern of US dollar bills represent the names of US 12 Federal Reserve banks respectively.

In global foreign exchange transactions, the US dollar accounts for 86%. At present, the US dollar is the most important foreign exchange in the international foreign exchange market, mainly in the following points:

1. The foreign exchange reserves of central banks include gold and various currencies, but the most important reserve asset is still the US dollar.

Almost all the world's major trade commodities are denominated in US dollars.

Most international trade is conducted in dollars.

Most international debt instruments are denominated in US dollars.

When traveling internationally, the dollar is usually the most widely accepted currency.

6. Almost every currency is expressed in dollars.

7. When there is an international crisis and funds want to seek a safe haven, the US dollar is usually the first consideration.

8. The situation in the dollar zone determines the development of interest rates worldwide.

(2) Euro

The euro originated from the Doyle plan put forward by 1989. 1991121Since the Maastricht Treaty opened the euro mechanism, by the beginning of 1999, most EU countries had pegged their currencies to the euro at a fixed exchange rate. According to the Maastricht Treaty, the single European currency is called "European monetary unit". In February, Council of Europe decided to change the name of the European single currency to the euro. From June 65438+ 10/2002, all income and expenses, including wage income and taxes, shall be calculated in euros. In March 2002 1, the old name of European currency disappeared after the official circulation of "Euro".

Euro banknotes are issued by the European Central Bank on the entrustment of the central banks of participating countries. Participating governments will issue euro coins. Maintain mutual coordination between different issuers. The potential intention of EU politicians to promote the euro is to end the "autocratic rule of the dollar". 1996 65438+February, the European monetary bureau in Frankfurt, Germany announced that 1999, the design pattern of the European Union's unified currency, the euro, had been evaluated by public bidding, and the Austrian banknote designer Robert Callina won the bid. In this scheme, the euro * * * is divided into seven denominations, namely 5 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros. The larger the denomination, the larger the area of paper money. The smallest euro note is 62 mm high and 120 mm wide, and the largest euro note is 500. The main components of the front pattern of each banknote are doors and windows, which symbolizes the spirit of cooperation and frankness advocated by the European Union. On the reverse side of paper money are all kinds of bridges, including small bridges long ago and modern advanced suspension bridges, which symbolize the connection between Europe and other countries. Various patterns such as doors, windows and bridges respectively reflect the architectural styles of various periods in Europe. The market value from small to large is classical, romantic, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, iron and glass, and modern architectural style. Colors are gray, red, blue, orange, green, brown and lavender. At the same time, there are 13 five-pointed stars closely surrounding the EU flag. Euro coins consist of eight denominations, including 1, 2,5,10,20,50 euro cents.

The EU has 15 member countries with a total population of over 370 million. 1997' s GDP is $8.097 billion, and its per capita GDP exceeds $20,000, accounting for 20.9% of the world's international trade. International reserves, including foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves, special drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund and reserve positions, are all higher than 480 billion US dollars. The strong economic strength of the European Union will support the rise of the euro in the world. The euro will be widely used in world trade, and the international asset reorganization centered on the euro will lead to a major adjustment in the financial market and a change in the asset portfolio. In the foreign exchange reserves of countries, the number of euros will increase. Of course, due to inertia, such changes will be gradual. The euro zone includes 15 countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta.

(3)

yen

Japanese yen is issued by the Bank of Japan. The denominations of Japanese banknotes are 100000, 5000, 1000, 500, 100, 50, 10, 5, 1 yuan, and others are 500,/kloc-0. Japanese bank notes are written in Chinese characters (arranged from left to right), with the words "Japanese bank notes" in the middle and above, and all kinds of bank notes have no date of issue. The person in charge of the issuing unit uses the seal, that is, the "president's seal" and "issuing director's seal" printed in red on the face.

(4) Pounds

The pound is the standard unit of currency in Britain and is issued by the Bank of England. 1 9765438+1October 15, the Bank of England implemented a new currency carry system, and the unit of secondary currency was changed to new pence,1equal to 100 new pence. At present, the denominations of banknotes in circulation are 5 10, 20 and 50, new pennies are 1, 2,5 1 0,50, and coins are1.

182 1 year Britain officially adopted the gold standard system, and the pound became the standard monetary unit in Britain, with 7.32238 pure gold per 1 pound. 19 14 when the first world war broke out, Britain abolished the gold standard, gold coins stopped circulating, Britain stopped exchanging gold, and the pound evolved into dishonorable paper money. However, due to the need of foreign exchange control, the British1946 65438+February 18 still stipulates that the gold content of the pound is 3.585438+034 grams. Britain announced that the pound was freely convertible. Due to the rapid loss of foreign exchange reserves, foreign exchange control was resumed in August of the same year. After the floating exchange rate of 197 1 US dollar was implemented in August1May, the pound began to determine the exchange rate against the US dollar on the basis of unchanged gold content. After the official depreciation of $65,438+on February 8th of the same year, the new official exchange rate of the British pound against the US dollar appreciated to 1 USD 2.6057, and the real exchange rate fluctuated within the range of 1 USD 2.547 1 USD 2.6643, with an amplitude of about 4.5%. 1on March 9, 973, eight western European countries formed a joint floating group, and Britain continued to float independently. 1990, 10 10. On 8 October, the pound joined the European monetary system, and its fluctuation range against the exchange rates of various currencies in the monetary system was 6%. 1992 September 16, Britain announced that the pound was temporarily separated from the European monetary system.

(5) Hong Kong dollars

Hong Kong dollar, also known as Hong Kong dollar, is mainly issued by the British-funded Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of China. At present, the denominations of Hong Kong dollars circulating in Hong Kong are: 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 yuan paper money, and 1 cent paper money and nickels of 5, 2 and 1 cent. 1 HKD equals 10 cent, and 1 cent equals 10 cent. The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, and the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Hong Kong dollar fluctuates around 1: 7.8.

(6) Australian dollar

The Australian dollar, also known as the Australian dollar, is the legal tender of Australia and is issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia. At present, there are denominations of 5, 10, 20,50, 100 in circulation in Australia, and there are also 1, 2,5,10,20,50 cent coins. 1 AUD equals 100 integral. All coins have the head of Queen Elizabeth II on the front. The new Australian dollar is a plastic banknote, which was put into use after nearly 30 years of research and development. Using polyester instead of paper is wear-resistant, not easy to torture, not afraid of rubbing, long service life, strong hand feeling and good anti-counterfeiting characteristics.

(7) Canadian dollar

Canadian dollars are issued by the Bank of Canada. There are eight denominations of Canadian paper money, including 1, 2,5,10,20,50, 100, 1000 yuan. And 1 yuan and 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 points. 1 yuan equals 100 integral. 1935, Canada issued the first batch of banknotes with the image of Queen George V; 1937 issued the 1937 version of banknotes printed with King George VI images; 1954 issued a 1954 version of paper money with Elizabeth II's head on it; Since August, 1970 and 1937 banknotes bearing the image of King George VI have been issued one after another. Since August 1970, new banknotes have been issued one after another. Both the old and new versions of banknotes can be circulated. The coin has the head of Queen Elizabeth II on the front and the Canadian English word "CANDA" on the back. Canadian residents are mainly descendants of British and French immigrants, divided into English-speaking areas and French-speaking areas, so English and French characters are used on paper money at the same time.

(8) Singapore dollar

The Singapore dollar is issued by the Singapore Currency Board. At present, the currencies in circulation in Singapore are: 10000, 1000, 500, 50, 20,/kloc-0, 5, 1 yuan, 1 yuan and 50, 20,/kloc-0. 1 yuan equals 100 integral. Singapore paper money has the format of 20, 25, 500, 10000 yuan coupons; 1, 5, 10 and 50 yuan coupon; There are three formats of 100 and 1000 yuan coupons. Main pattern with Hu Jihua plane format; The other format takes birds as the main pattern; The paper money in the third format is 1984, with denominations of 100 and 1000 yuan, and the main patterns on the face are various ships. The words "Singapore" are printed in prominent positions on the front and back of banknotes of various denominations, and the pattern of "standing a lion to help the stars and the moon shield" is also printed on the front. Old and new banknotes are mixed. Four kinds of Singapore dollars, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, each with two styles.

Ix. Swiss francs

The issuer of Swiss francs is the Swiss National Bank. The carry of the secondary currency is 1 Swiss franc, which is equal to 100 cm. The denominations of banknotes are 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 Swiss francs, and coins are 1, 2, 0. Because Switzerland pursues a neutral and non-aligned policy, Switzerland is considered to be the safest place, and the Swiss franc is also known as the traditional safe-haven currency. In addition, the Swiss government's protective policies on finance and foreign exchange have caused a large amount of foreign exchange to flood into Switzerland, and the Swiss franc has become a stable and popular currency for international settlement and foreign exchange transactions.