Chinese investors have been big buyers of international property for years, helping to boost real estate markets globally as they ploughed money into so-called trophy assets.
However, last year the country tightened capital controls on foreign property purchases. As a result, Chinese cross-border real estate investment in the first quarter of 2018 was the lowest in three years, as outflows fell 27 per cent year-on-year to $5.6bn for the period.
Now institutional investors are grappling with what this tightening of policy means for commercial property markets around the world and whether the retreat of Chinese buyers will push down prices.