China’s investment banks put their stamp on some big global deals last year, participating in multibillion-dollar fund-raising efforts involving such clients as General Motors, Russia’s Rusal and Global Logistics Properties of Singapore.

But their ambition to take a greater and more lucrative management role in deals has been hobbled by their narrow focus on Chinese investors, prompting expansion plans and efforts to tie up with foreign partners.

BOC International, an arm of Bank of China, was a bookrunner on Russian aluminum producer Rusal’s $2.2 billion Hong Kong initial public offering in January, meaning it was charged with finding investors to buy big chunks of the shares. It was also a bookrunner on Russian miner IRC’s $241 million IPO in October, also in Hong Kong.

Further afield, China International Capital Corp., also known as CICC, and the investment banking arm of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China were co-managers in GM’s $23.1 billion IPO in November, the world’s largest for 2010. The participation helped to bring in government-owned Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, GM’s partner in China, to buy in $500 million of shares, people familiar with the matter have said.

CICC, which was the top adviser in China last year by estimated investment-banking revenue, also participated in the $3 billion IPO of Global Logistics Properties in October, as a joint bookrunner, along with J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, DBS Bank and UBS. The Global Logistics IPO was CICC’s first as a bookrunner outside Hong Kong and China.

Citic Securities International was a senior co-manager on asset manager BlackRock’s $9.2 billion share sale in November, in its first equity deal in the U.S.

Still, the success in markets outside the mainland also shows the obstacles Chinese banks face winning a share of big deals. In each case, the banks were selected because they offer access to Chinese investors. Big companies looking to raise money want access to a wider group of investors and deeper pools of money—something the big global banks are better positioned to offer.

“Few of the Chinese investment banks now have securities licenses in many of the major global centers. Though they are building or buying that capability, it’s not quite there today,” said Keith Pogson, financial services managing partner for the Far East at Ernst & Young.

As a result, Chinese banks are looking to expand. CCB International, the investment-banking arm of China Construction Bank, plans to open a New York office this year, a person familiar with the situation said. Currently, it has offices in Hong Kong and London.

“We are further developing our comprehensive investment services platform,” said Hu Zhanghong, chief executive of CCB International.

Citic Securities has signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s Crédit Agricole that will combine their global equity businesses, although that is still awaiting regulatory approval.

In recent years, the big banks have used their China connections to climb the league tables that rank investment banks by the dollar value of client business handled. CICC was ranked 13th by estimated revenue in equity capital markets last year in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Dealogic. Equity-capital-markets transactions include IPOs and follow-on offerings of shares in already-listed companies.

The investment-banking arms of Chinese banks also count on lending relationships for clinching deals, say people familiar with the situation.

CCB, which started being a bookrunner for Hong Kong IPOs last year, generated $47 million in estimated revenue from equity capital markets in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010, up from just $14 million a year earlier, according to Dealogic. CCB is China’s second-largest lender by assets after Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

Still, within the region, only the securities operation of insurer Ping An Insurance (Group) has cracked the top 10 in that category.

Hong Kong has been the major area of expansion for the banks so far. “One of the main reasons to come to HK is to take advantage of the Chinese investment pool,” said Marshall Nicholson, global head of equity capital markets and vice chairman of investment banking division at BOC International.