This book provides a critical analysis of and context to international capital markets, their regulation and their institutions. The book takes a comparative and developmental perspective, examining the characteristics, interaction and regulation of developed markets in the US, UK and the EU, as well as Asian markets such as Hong Kong and China. In addition to examining Malaysia’s efforts to create an international regulatory framework for Islamic finance, the book looks at other niche markets of the world, such as Luxembourg, Switzerland, Singapore, Ireland, Bahrain and Dubai. There is both a detailed analysis of complex concepts, supporting the competing regulatory goals and techniques, as well as a conceptual overview of the regulatory landscape, making this book an indispensable resource. Current issues such as the delineation of regulated and unregulated markets, stratification of markets, and the capital market activities of international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are explained. Practitioners, scholars and post-graduate students will find this book to be a valuable guide to understanding the regulation and practice of international capital markets.