BEIJING - China will expand investment from Hong Kong and Macao in mainland stock markets, the country's securities regulator said Wednesday.

The size of investment from Hong Kong and Macao in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets, especially in the exchange-traded funds there, will be gradually increased, said Guo Shuqing, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CBRC), said at a meeting.

Currently, Hong Kong and Macao investment in mainland stock markets can only be made through the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) scheme with limited quotas.

The CBRC will speed up the paces to introduce more QFIIs and enlarge their investment quotas, Guo said.

He also noted the CBRC will release rules for the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII), a scheme to enable qualified investors to raise money in RMB from the Hong Kong market and invest in domestic A-share and bonds market, as soon as possible.

The RQFIIs will be allowed to invest in mainland securities markets with an initial size of 20 billion yuan ($3.15 billion), Vice Premier Li Keqiang announced during his Hong Kong visit in August.

The moves are expected to cast positive impact on China's A-share market in the long run as they will attract more funds to the Chinese mainland's capital market.

"We should keep our confidence and seize the opportunities to promote stable and healthy development of the capital market," said Guo.

Chinese stocks fell for the fifth consecutive trading day on Wednesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closing down 0.86 percent to 2,229.25, as the dampened economic outlook triggered a further loss of investor confidence.