Currency (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 46/1998

Read the first time on 12th October 1998.

An Act to amend the Currency Act (Chapter 69 of the 1992 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Currency (Amendment) Act 1998 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

New section 4A

2. The Currency Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 4, the following section:

“Common seal

4A.—(1) All deeds and documents requiring the seal of the Board shall be sealed with the common seal of the Board and such instruments to which the common seal is affixed shall be signed by the Chief Executive Officer.

(2) All courts and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Board affixed to any document and presume it was duly affixed.”.

Amendment of section 5

3. Section 5(2) of the Currency Act is amended by deleting the words “General Manager” and substituting the words “Chief Executive Officer”.

Amendment of section 6

4. Section 6 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) and substituting the following paragraphs:

“(b)	the Deputy Chairman who shall be appointed by the President; and
(c)	4 other members possessing recognised banking, financial or business experience who shall be appointed by the President.”; and

(b)

by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) Subject to subsection (3), every member of the Board shall be appointed for a specific term not exceeding 3 years and shall vacate his office without prejudice to his eligibility for re-appointment at the expiration of that term.”.

Amendment of section 8

5. Section 8 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “The Deputy Chairman or a” in subsection (1) and substituting the word “A”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “Deputy Chairman and other” in the section heading.

Amendment of section 10

6. The Currency Act is amended by renumbering section 10 as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection:

“(2) Any person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.”.

Amendment of section 11

7. Section 11(2) of the Currency Act is amended by inserting, immediately after “ “S$” ”, the words “or “SGD” ”.

Amendment of section 14

8. Section 14 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)	by inserting, immediately after the word “person” in subsection (1), the words “, except with the permission of the Board,”; and
(b)	by deleting subsection (4).

Amendment of section 17

9. Section 17 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “and may be authenticated in such manner” in subsection (1);

(b)

by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) The dies, plates and other instruments or materials used for the printing of notes and the currency notes printed shall be prepared and kept, issued and destroyed in accordance with any direction of the Board.”;

(c)

by deleting the words “metal or metals” in subsection (3) and substituting the word “materials”; and

(d)

by deleting subsection (4) and substituting the following subsection:

“(4) The dies and other instruments or materials used for the minting of coins and the currency coins minted shall be prepared and kept, issued and destroyed in accordance with any direction of the Board.”.

Amendment of section 18

10. Section 18 of the Currency Act is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:

“(1) The Board may, by notification in the Gazette, withdraw any particular issue or denomination of notes and coins issued by the Board which shall upon such withdrawal cease to be legal tender.”.

Amendment of section 19

11. Section 19(3) of the Currency Act is amended by deleting the words “when tendered to the Board” and substituting the words “or other person authorised by the Board when tendered to the Board or such person, as the case may be”.

Amendment of section 20

12. Section 20 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following subsections:

“(1) Except with the permission of the Board, no person shall —

(a)	in any size, scale or colour, use any photograph of or any drawing or design resembling any currency note or coin or part thereof, in any advertisement; or
(b)	import, manufacture, sell, circulate or otherwise distribute any merchandise or product containing such a photograph, drawing or design in any size, scale or colour.

(2) Except with the permission of the Board, no person shall import, manufacture, sell, circulate or otherwise distribute any merchandise or product containing any design or part thereof used in or on any currency note or coin.

(2A) The Board may, in granting any permission under subsection (1) or (2), impose such conditions as it thinks fit.”.

Repeal of section 20A

13. Section 20A of the Currency Act is repealed.

Amendment of section 21

14. Section 21 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsections (5) and (6) and substituting the following subsection:

“(5) The Board shall maintain adequate liquidity in the Currency Fund to meet all demands under normal market conditions.”;

(b)

by deleting “(6)” in the first line of subsection (7) and substituting “(4)”;

(c)

by inserting, at the end of subsection (7)(a), the word “and”; and

(d)

by deleting paragraph (b) of subsection (7).

Amendment of section 22

15. Section 22 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (b) and substituting the following sub-paragraph:

“(i)	demand or time deposits;”; and

(b)

by deleting paragraph (d) and substituting the following paragraphs:

“(d)	equities;
(da)	corporate bonds;
(db)	currency and financial futures;”.

Amendment of section 22A

16. Section 22A of the Currency Act is amended by deleting subsection (4).

Amendment of section 23

17. Section 23 of the Currency Act is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (2), the following subsection:

“(2A) There shall be charged upon the Income Account all expenses relating to the investment of the Reserve Fund and the Currency Fund.”.

Amendment of section 29

18. Section 29 of the Currency Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “every third month” in subsection (3) and substituting the words “each quarter”; and

(b)

by deleting subsection (4) and substituting the following subsection:

“(4) The Board shall publish at quarterly intervals in the Gazette an abstract showing —

(a)	the amount of the Currency Fund determined by the Board to be adequate for the purposes of section 21(5) and the forms of assets in which that amount is held; and
(b)	the nominal value and price paid for and, where appropriate, the latest known market price of securities belonging to the Currency Fund.”.

New section 32A

19. The Currency Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 32, the following section:

“Sanction of Public Prosecutor

32A. No prosecution for any offence under this Act shall be instituted without the sanction of the Public Prosecutor.”.

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