New report outlines how City of London will shape the future of global trade and finance

A new report co-authored by academics at Bayes Business School has called on the City of London to create Smart Economic Networks for digital transactions to preserve its position as a global leader in trade, finance and technological innovation.

The report, titled Towards a Smart Economy,  contains contributions from Professor Feng Li, Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, Ruth Wandhöfer, Visiting Professor at Bayes, and Brunello Rosa, Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Policy & Global Affairs at City St George's, University of London. It lays the blueprint for establishing the development of a Smart Economic Network in London to reinforce the City as a world-renowned venue of global trade, across the areas of cross-border trade, trade finance and international payments.

Smart Economic Networks are defined as being a digitally smart approaches to doing business, through the acceleration of rich, real-time and open data with shared ledgers and artificial intelligence which drive efficiency, effectiveness and cost-effective productivity. Aimed primarily towards financial institutions, national and international trading partners and governments, the networks would deliver secure data-sharing between participants in cross-border supply chains, with importers, exporters, customs, trade finance and payment operations all served with information through reliable technology.

The report outlines the raft of opportunities for Smart Economic Networks to improve international trade, outlining key components and stakeholder partnerships that are required, as well as recommendations for implementation and growth across the City of London.

The report supports an important part of the Lord Mayor’s ‘Connect to Prosper’ theme in office, leveraging the City’s strengths and connections to overcome global challenges and capitalise on new opportunities.

City St George’s, University of London has a special relationship with the City of London because the Lord Mayor, the Rt. Hon. Alderman Michael Mainelli, is its Rector.

Professor Li said the report would map out how the City can maintain its competitive advantage through enhanced digitalisation.

“Smart Economic Networks will transform global trade and finance,” he said.

“They will do this by leveraging new technologies like AI, distributed ledgers, and real-time data to increase productivity, trust, and efficiency while reducing costs and risks in cross-border trade, finance, and payments.

“With its unique ecosystem and leadership in fintech, the City of London is well positioned to spearhead this transformation by establishing resilient, interoperable networks for secure, real-time data sharing in global trade.

“Doing so will require collaborative efforts among government, industry, and academia to create the necessary governance and technical infrastructure, positioning the UK as a leader in the global digital economy.

“It was very pleasing to join the steering group behind this report and I hope it will inspire, inform and attract investment in a new age of information sharing for London and the rest of the country.”

Dr Sionade Robinson, Vice-President, Enterprise, Engagement & Employability at City St George’s, said the University was ready to play an active role in the City’s ambitions.

“One of our key strategic objectives at City St George’s is to be open and outward-facing, proud of our deep-rooted connections with the City of London and comfortable with co-creation,” she said.

“Alongside the privilege we enjoy of being right in the heart of one of the world’s main financial districts, we recognise the role we have to help maintain this status as an institution rich in global business expertise.

“This report provides a glimpse into the incredible opportunities the City of London will continue to offer, but only if digital technologies are adopted and implemented correctly. We are equipped to play our part in helping achieve this through our research at the frontier of practice and education of future leaders.

Commenting on the report in his foreword, Alderman Michael Mainelli, The Rt. Hon. Lord Mayor of London and Rector of City St George’s said:

“London is Europe’s fintech capital and attracts more investment in this area than the next 13 European cities combined.

“The Square Mile is home to learned societies and educational institutions, and over 24,000 businesses, including some of the world’s most innovative tech firms. With world-renowned financial services, an enabling legal and regulatory environment and access to incredible talent and skills, it is truly unique.

“This paper sets out a framework of issues around which stakeholders should convene, build consensus, and drive forward the evolution of a smart economy and the technical and governance infrastructure which will underpin it.”

Read the full report Towards a Smart Economy.