SINGAPORE - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Thursday (Jan 22) that it will issue more good-as-new $2 notes for Chinese New Year to meet an anticipated increase in demand.

This is the third consecutive year that MAS is issuing good-as-new $2 notes. These are clean and crisp notes retrieved immediately after the previous Chinese New Year.

Both the brand new and good-as-new $2 notes will be available at participating banks from Feb 2.

MAS said that in 2014, 14 per cent of the $2 notes issued during the Lunar New Year were good-as-new notes, an increase of 3 per cent from 2013. This allowed MAS to maintain the quantity of brand new $2 notes issued last year despite the increase in demand for $2 notes.

Said MAS assistant managing director Low Kwok Mun: "Since the good-as-new $2 notes were introduced in 2013, the total energy saved from printing fewer new notes is equivalent to that needed to power 100 4-room HDB flats for 10 weeks. With greater awareness and support for this initiative, we can achieve even more this year."

Mrs Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of the Association of Banks in Singapore, said the public has responded positively to the good-as-new notes and it hopes to see more people asking for them this year.