The number of apartments left vacant by Chinese investors globally is around 25% according to UBS and the majority of those apartments are purchased in cash. Assuming that UBS figure is somewhat true, we can have an idea of the type of investors they are.
In 2012, the Chinese government launch a major anti-corruption campaign to crack down on 'tigers and flies'.
As a result, I believe that many investors are purchasing properties overseas either to protect their assets, to diversify their portfolio that acts as a hedge against the economic and political uncertainty back at home, to whitened their illegally derived wealth or a combination to some degree of all the reasons mentioned.
As to why they leave their property vacant, they might be the sort of investors that need to shift their capital fast across the globe and as such, they do not want to be entangled in the business of renting.
