Changing technology, changing global trade

Each week, we’ll delve into the recent reading lists of finance professionals around the world.

This week, we hear from Mike Gray, FCMA, CGMA, the managing director of CFO Centre, a provider of part-time CFO services in Africa and Indian Ocean islands. Here’s a sampling of content that has recently caught his attention:

• “Amazon Has Big Plans to Disrupt the Payments Industry”: Gray liked this article’s discussion of “disruptive strategies that are changing the face of retail and how we do business together.”


• “ConsenSys, Nation of Mauritius in Talks to Create ‘Ethereum Island’”: The article details plans to create a hub for blockchain technology in Gray’s region. He enjoyed learning more about the potential for blockchain to change commerce globally.


• “These Five Countries Are Conduits for the World’s Biggest Tax Havens”: New research sheds light on global tax strategies of companies, and the countries they often look to for tax loopholes.


• “Trade Winds Shifting”: New patterns have caused disruption in global trade, according to this article in Global Finance magazine, which details reasons for optimism and potential threats to global economic growth.