英國擬將發行塑料質地鈔票大綱

The crumpled fivers and tenners that change hands in corner shops and pubs across Britain are set to be consigned to history after the Bank of England announced the introduction of wipe-clean plastic notes.
英國央行(BoE)宣佈，將發行易擦洗的塑料鈔票。這意味着不久後，在英國街角商店和酒吧易手的皺巴巴的5英鎊和10英鎊紙鈔將成爲歷史。

The first plastic tender will be the new £5 note, which will feature an image of wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and enter circulation in 2016. This will be followed shortly after by a £10 note featuring Jane Austen, the 19th-century novelist.
第一批塑料鈔票將是5英鎊鈔票，上面將印着戰時首相溫斯頓•邱吉爾(Winston Churchill)的肖像，2016年開始流通。隨後，印有19世紀小說家簡•奧斯汀(Jane Austen)肖像的10英鎊鈔票也將進入流通。

Mark Carney, BoE governor, said the notes would “combine the best of progress and tradition”, adding that the switch was a “natural evolution”.
英國央行行長馬克•卡尼(Mark Carney)說，塑料鈔票將是“進步與傳統的最好結合”，並表示這種轉變是“自然演化的結果”。

Mr Carney introduced plastic banknotes in Canada while head of its central bank, although the BoE has been researching a switch to plastic for three years, predating his arrival in July as governor.
卡尼在擔任加拿大央行行長時爲該國推出了塑料鈔票，不過他今年7月才赴英國央行上任，而英國央行三年前就開始研究用塑料鈔票替代紙鈔。

Since launching the consultation three months ago, the BoE has taken sample £5 and £10 notes on roadshows to shopping centres, telling shoppers that they are secure, cheaper and greener than paper-based money.
英國央行三個月前開始向公衆徵求意見，並在購物中心推介5英鎊和10英鎊塑料鈔票樣品，告訴購物者它們是安全的，成本低於紙鈔，也更環保。

“The response to that consultation was overwhelmingly supportive of polymer notes,” the BoE said on Wednesday, adding that though brand new notes can “sometimes stick together . . . this effect is shortlived”.
“徵求意見的結果是，公衆一邊倒地支持塑料鈔票，”英國央行週三表示。它補充稱，儘管塑料鈔票在嶄新的狀態下“有時會粘在一起……但這段時間很快就過去”。

Plastic, or “polymer”, notes have been adopted in more than 25 countries, from Australia – which, in 1988, became the first to introduce the notes – to Zambia.
塑料鈔票也稱聚合物鈔票，目前已在超過25國得到使用，包括澳大利亞（1988年成爲首個推出塑料鈔票的國家）和贊比亞等等。

They have several advantages over conventional notes. The paper tender in current use is made from cotton fibre and linen rag, which is tougher and more durable than the more common wood pulp paper. But plastic notes are tougher still, able to withstand a cycle in the washing machine.
相比傳統鈔票，塑料鈔票有幾點優勢。目前使用的紙鈔用棉纖維和亞麻纖維製成，比普通的木漿紙更堅韌耐用。但塑料鈔票還要更加堅韌，能耐得住機洗。

The notes are more expensive to produce but they last longer – two-and-a-half times longer, the BoE said – than their paper equivalents and are more difficult to counterfeit.
塑料鈔票的生產成本更高，但壽命更久——英國央行稱是紙鈔的2.5倍——並且更難僞造。

Nigeria adopted plastic notes in 2007 for four denominations. But last month the country’s central bank was reported as saying it would switch back to paper, complaining that the polymer notes faded in the “peculiar hot climate . . . making them look tattered when in use over time”.
尼日利亞2007年發行了四種面額的塑料鈔票，但據報道，上月該國央行表示將重新啓用紙鈔，原因是聚合物鈔票在“特別炎熱的氣候下”會褪色，“以致用久了後會變得破舊”。

The BoE said a decision on whether to introduce a plastic £20 note, the most common tender, would be made “in due course”.
英國央行表示，對於是否發行最常用的20英鎊面額的塑料鈔票，將在“合適時間”做出決定。

The BoE also said it expected to commission polymer-specialist Innovia, owned by private equity fund Arle Capital, to produce the sheets of plastic – so-called substrate – in what will be a blow to De La Rue, sole supplier of notes to the BoE for a decade.
英國央行還表示，它預計將委託專業聚合物公司Innovia生產塑料鈔票的基片。這對德納羅(De La Rue)公司是個打擊，後者過去十年是爲英國央行印製鈔票的獨家供應商。Innovia是私募股權基金Arle Capital旗下的公司。

De La Rue is thought likely to retain the contract to design and print the notes at the BoE-owned plant it operates in Debden, Essex.
德納羅或將能保留鈔票設計和印製合同。它在埃塞克斯郡迪布頓運營着一家印鈔廠，爲英國央行所有。

De La Rue’s contract, which expires in 2015, is worth £50m-£60m in annual revenue. Margins on the plastic contract will be lower if it is forced to use Innovia substrate rather than its own, though volumes are likely to be high in the early stages of the contract, which may boost revenues.
這項將於2015年到期的合同每年爲德納羅帶來5000萬至6000萬英鎊收入。如果被迫採用Innovia而不是德納羅自己的基片，印製塑料鈔票的利潤率會低一些，不過合同初期的鈔票印刷量可能將會很高，帶來更高收入。

“The real game is in the print,” said Alexander Mees, analyst at JPMorgan Cazenove, De La Rue’s house broker. “It’s very much a sideshow as to who is providing the substrate.”
“真正重要的是印刷環節，”摩根大通嘉誠（JPMorgan Cazenove，德納羅的經紀商）分析師亞歷山大•米斯(Alexander Mees)說。“誰提供基片，不是關鍵問題。”