China's securities regulator has allowed margin trading and short selling on more stocks and scrapped a uniform threshold for margin calls, as it seeks to give market forces a bigger role in the capital market.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said Aug. 9 it has increased the number of stocks eligible for margin trading and short selling to 1,600 from 950. Many newly added stocks are mid-sized companies or listed on the country's second-board market.

The regulator has also allowed market participants to decide when investors need to deposit additional money in their margin accounts based on their risk profile.