The last major industry event to take place before COVID hit was High Security Printing™ EMEA, which was held in Lisbon in March 2020. The latest HSP EMEA opens it doors from 13-15 June in Tallinn in Estonia, renowned at that time of year for its ‘White Nights’ when the sun scarcely sets.

Benjamin Diokno, Governor of the Bankgo Sentral ng Pilipinas, will join the incoming government as Finance Minister. His replacement will be Felipe Medalla.

It was a long-time coming, but following two years of delays and a last-minute change of venue, the inaugural Global Currency Forum finally went ahead in early May in Port Aventura in Spain.

The global independent think tank CashEssentials has announced the launch of the CashTech Innovation Awards, to recognise innovations that will facilitate access to and acceptance of cash.

BP Security is the new name for the security papermaker in Brazil, the only one in Latin America capable of producing banknote-grade mould made paper, formerly owned by Fedrigoni.

Following the return of in-person events, one company that has been prominent with its range of eye-catching optically variable features is IQ Structures, which specialises in lithography techniques, 3D nano-printing and industrial replication of nanostructured materials.

The Mint Directors Conference is normally held every two years, providing an opportunity for discussions, information-sharing and debate within and about the industry.

In early June Currency Research will host its first in person Cash Cycle Seminar since COVID forced a postponement of the planned March 2020 event in Amsterdam.

After several years of losses, the Mint of Finland has reported a significant increase in sales and return to profit for 2021. Consolidated revenue increased by 45% to €83 million, due largely to a good order backlog at the beginning the year.

The Banco de México has continued its award-winning streak with the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) Banknote of the Year award for 2021 for the 50 peso. It won the same award for 2020 for the new 100 peso. And both notes recently earned it the HSP Regional Banknote of the Year award.

De La Rue launched the next effects in its IGNITE® thread portfolio at the Banknote & Currency Conference in February. IGNITE belongs to the fast-growing combinational thread category that is becoming extremely popular amongst central banks that issue paper banknotes.

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) is moving its gold vault and banknote activities from its head office in Amsterdam to Camp New Amsterdam in Zeist, and is making good progress on the project, which is due to complete next year.

SICPA has unveiled the name for its new campus in Lausanne – unlimitrust. Formerly known as Square One, the aim of the new campus, the first of its kind, is to bring together diverse partners promoting the ‘Economy of Trust’, linking the security of the physical world with its digital counterpart in order to protect goods and people from the vulnerabilities created by today’s global digitalised economy and governance.

Australia’s lower denomination coins will end up costing more to make than their face value, according to a report by the research outfit Morningstar, thanks to soaring metal prices.

There is a lot going on in the Philippines at the moment. Currency News™ caught up with Deputy Governor Mamomet Tangonan at the recent Banknote & Currency Conference to find out more.

The UK’s Royal Mint has announced plans to build a new plant in Llantrisant, South Wales, to recover gold from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The Central Bank of Tunisia has issued two new banknotes – the 5 and 50 dinars – which will co-circulate with the existing versions. The 50 dinar features the former Prime Minister, Hédi Nouira, and the 5 dinar a portrait of the engineer, agronomist and activist Slaheddine Amami.

De La Rue has issued a trading update in which it said that it expects its full year operating profits to be in line with market expectations (these being based on the average published notes from Investec and Numis Securities). Net debt is expected to be slightly better than market expectations of £75 million.

Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish and Recycle are the five widely-accepted elements of a circular economy. This article from CCL Secure covers three of them.

Giesecke+Devrient has described 2021 in financial terms as one of the most successful in its history. Sales of €2.38 billion were a 2.8% improvement on the previous year and almost back at the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.