ABSTRACT
Electronic commerce has been widely predicted to revolutionise the way in which business is conducted and to have major social implications. This chapter examines the business-to-business (B2B) area, with a focus on banking and finance. It focuses on global twenty-four hour financial markets, similar developments are taking place in high technology industries. A more fundamental issue relates to the global political economy implications of e-commerce. The widespread adoption of e-commerce, especially in the B2B area, will profoundly affect the interrelationships between the global and the local. The geographical agglomeration of specialised business services, corporate headquarters and government services in relatively close proximity is a key function of global cities. The growing global integration of Transnational Corporations, particularly in high-technology industries and business and financial services, requires heavy information flows to support such operations. The central complicating feature in the globalisation of securities exchanges is the conflict between the global and the local.
