Asia’s 10 strongest currencies have been identified but China‘s yuan and Japan‘s yen haven’t made the cut.
Kuwait’s dinar leads the list of currencies in Asia compiled in June by Best Diplomats, which provides training for future civil servants.
The publication said the Kuwaiti dinar was “the strongest” Asian currency this year, with one dinar worth 3.26 US dollars.
Located between Saudia Arabia and Iraq, Kuwait is an oil rich country with one of the largest reserves of fossil fuel in the world.
According to Best Diplomats, the dinar’s strength is bolstered by the Kuwaiti government’s “responsible” budgetary policies.
Kuwait also benefits from having large foreign exchange reserves, which act as a safety net against external economic shocks and guarantee “the stability of the dinar’s exchange rate”.
In descending order, the next nine strongest currencies in Asia listed by Best Diplomats are: the Bahraini Dinar, Omani Rial, Jordanian Dinar, Brunei Dollar, Singapore Dollar, Azerbaijani Manat, Turkmen Manat, Israeli Shekel and Saudi Riyal.
One Bahraini dinar is currently worth 2.65 US dollars, with Bahrain’s tourism industry said to boost the dinar’s value. The strength of the country’s finance, commerce, banking, construction and petroleum sectors is also said to benefit Bahrain’s economy.
An Omani Rial is now worth 2.60 US dollars, a Jordanian Dinar 1.41 US dollars, a Brunei Dollar 0.76 US dollars and a Singapore Dollar the same.
Jordan’s dinar is said to remain one of the Middle East’s most stable currencies, remaining so due to the country’s “sound” fiscal and monetary policies.
As for the remaining top 10 currencies, one Azerbaijani Manat is worth 0.59 US dollars, a Turkmen Manat 0.29, Israeli Shekel 0.27 and one Saudi Riyal the same.
Japan’s yen is worth 0.0065 US dollars while one Chinese yuan will set you back 0.14 USD.
The values listed above are based on prices at the time of writing and not those identified in Best Diplomat’s ranking, which was published on June 4.
One USD was worth the following in June:
Kuwaiti Dinar 0.31
Bahraini Dinar 0.38
Omani Rial 0.38
Jordanian Dinar 0.71
Brunei Dollar 1.35
Singapore Dollar 1.35
Azerbaijani Manat 1.70
Turkmen Manat 3.50
Israeli Shekel 3.72
Saudi Riyal 3.75