Japan has won an order to produce coins for another country, the first time it has minted regular currency in the postwar ear, the Finance Ministry announced Tuesday.
The Osaka-based Japan Mint received the order from the central bank of Bangladesh to produce 500 million 2-taka coins from April 2013, worth $6.5 million.
A 2 taka coin is worth around 2 US cents and is made of stainless steel with an image of Bangladesh’s first president, Mujibur Rahman, and the national emblem, a water lily bordered on two sides by rice sheaves, reports the Asahi Shimbun.
Bangladesh’s central bank sought an international tender in July and Japan’s bid prevailed against competitors from Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom, the ministry said.
Japan is seeking to produce currency for emerging countries in Asia and the Middle East that lack mints and expects to produce 900 million coins this fiscal year.
