(Yicai Global) Jan. 4 -- Dong Mingzhu, chair of Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai, is considering building 80,000 two-bedroom apartments, one for each of the firm's employees to live in.

Dong has been mulling the idea for two years, she said at the 2018 Zhisland New Year forum in Zhuhai. She believes it will help reduce staff turnover.

Gree made CNY20 billion (USD3.1 billion) on revenue of CNY150 billion last year, hitting record-high margins of 15 percent after paying CNY20 billion in taxes.

"We're very proud of achieving such a high margin in the manufacturing sector," Dong said. "Our innovative team is responsible for the efficiency. We couldn't leave them living in huts."

China's home appliance makers are in a race to develop smarter products and expand overseas and need to compete for talent, but as a state-owned company, Gree faces restrictions in its remuneration packages. Dong hopes to find more creative ways to bring in and retain top workers.

The ambitious scheme would allow employees to own the properties if they work at Gree until they retire, but the costs could tally up to more than the firm's 2015 and 2016 profits combined. Assuming construction costs of CNY5,000 a square meter and property area of 70 square meters, building 80,000 homes would cost CNY28 billion.

Gree has 11 production bases and five renewable resources centers around the country, and already provides two-bedroom accommodation to married employees. A row of buildings across from the company's headquarters are employee dormitories or houses sold at special rates, Zhang Yanbin, a senior observer in the air-condition industry, told Yicai Global. Senior employees also have apartments there, he added.