At the launch of the training Monday, Glenn Gersie, Director of Monetary and Economic Affairs at the Central Bank, represented Bank Governor Hoefdraad in picturing the scope of the training to the participants. US Ambassador Jay Anania also addressed the audience.

The training will focus on anti-money laundering techniques and methods for identifying and confronting suspicious financial transactions. The ability to prevent and detect money laundering is a highly effective means of identifying criminals and terrorists and the underlying activity from which money is derived.

The training contributes to Suriname’s compliance with Caribbean Financial Task Force recommendations.  It also supports the changes to the sectorial framework laid out in the joint Government of Suriname and Inter-American Development Bank Country Strategy for Suriname 2011-2015. Ambassador Anania expressed the willingness of The United States to continue to work with Suriname on a range of law enforcement, rule of law, fiscal transparency, and regional security cooperation.

Washington, D.C.—Suriname has joined IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, it was announced on Friday. Joining the institute as its 183rd member –and 14th in the Caribbean- Suriname is expected to benefit as, said Central Bank (CBvS) Governor Gilmore Hoefdraad according to a press release, “this (membership) will have a positive impact in creating opportunities for the people of Suriname.” Hoefdraad signed the IFC Articles of Agreement to ratify the country’s membership.

The release said IFC membership was recommended by IFC’s Board of Directors. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group  is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. “We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets,” the release said. It stated that in fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe,  IFC helped its clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving investments to an all-time high of nearly US$ 19 billion.  Suriname was already a member of the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

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PARAMARIBO, Suriname–The Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) is issuing a new series of banknotes, with improved security features. In a press release issued earlier this week, CBvS announced that new notes of 20 and 50 Surinamese dollars (SRD) will be issued initially; SRD 5, SRD 10 and SRD 100 notes will be issued before year-end.

“The new notes and the old ones will circulate simultaneously in the community, but the intention is to retrieve all old ones as they make their way back to our bank through the regular process of circulation,” the Central Bank announced. The bank said that periodically reprinting banknotes is one of its regular tasks. “By doing this we stay apace with international banking developments,” the bank said. The institute also said that it had been proven necessary to improve the security features of the existing notes, to curtail counterfeiting.

“The new notes have a holographic banner on the front and a line on the back that changes color depending on how it is looked at,” the release stated. To facilitate the security features, the design of the notes had to be altered somewhat. The president’s signature was shifted upward and the serial number was moved to the center of the bills.

Suriname's stately CBvS building at Waterkant in Paramaribo

PARAMARIBO – Suriname’s Central Bank CBvS recorded SRD 79 million (US$ 28 million) in profit over the fiscal year 2009, online daily news-medium GFC News reported. The profit will be transferred to the Government, as per the instructions of the Board of Commissioners of the Bank.

It was reported that in 2009, despite the global economic crisis, Suriname’s Gross National Product still saw 3.1 percent growth. Sectors that played an important role in the growth are the agriculture industry, manufacturing and construction.

With the price of gold on the rise globally, Suriname’s gold-mining industry has also seen growth, with the small mining operations responsible for more than 56.3 percent of the gold production in the country. More than 900 million US dollars worth of gold was transported in 2010; 28,600 kilograms in comparison to 26,737 in 2009.