China’s lofty property prices are prompting the country’s tech titans to revive old-school communist policies and help put a roof over their employees’ heads.

受国内高房价推动，中国科技巨擘正重拾旧式的共产主义政策，帮助员工安家。

While a few decades ago workers were housed in basic accommodation¹ owned by the state, today some of China’s biggest private companies are doling² out interest-free loans and subsidies³ to enable workers to buy their own homes.

在几十年前的中国，职工统一居住在政府所有的住房里。如今，一些中国大型民营企业正向员工发放无息贷款和补贴，以使他们能够购买自己的住房。

Alibaba and Tencent, two of the country’s internet trinity, are among those helping⁴ employees buy apartments.

中国互联网三巨头中的阿里巴巴(Alibaba)和腾讯(Tencent)就在帮助员工买房的企业之列。

Tencent, the social media group headquartered in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, offers interest-free loans of up to Rmb500,000 ($72,629) for purchases in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou — home to some of the country’s priciest real estate⁵ — and up to Rmb250,000 in other cities.

总部在南方新兴城市深圳的社交媒体集团腾讯为员工提供无息住房贷款，其员工在房价全国最贵的“北上广深”买房可获得最高额度50万元人民币的贷款，在其他城市买房最多可贷款25万元人民币。

Alibaba has gone a step further, building 380 apartments on its campus in Hangzhou — an hour’s train ride from Shanghai — and holding a lottery⁶ that gave winning employees the right to buy an apartment at roughly two-thirds the market price.

阿里巴巴就更进一步了，该公司在杭州自己的一个地块上建造了380套公寓并举行了抽签，中签员工有权以市场价约三分之二的价格购买这些公寓。

While the government late last year implemented⁷ measures to cool prices, including lifting the minimum deposit required and cracking down on purchases of second homes, Chinese homes are among the world’s least affordable⁸ and those in top-tier cities rose 20-30 per cent last year.

虽然去年底中国政府采取了措施为房价降温，包括提高最低首付比例和限制购买第二套住房，但中国是全世界购房负担最重的国家之一，去年一线城市房价上涨了20%至30%。

CBRE Research estimates it takes 20 years of average net household income to buy a flat in most of China’s top cities.

世邦魏理仕(CBRE)的研究部门估计，在中国多数一线城市，购买一套住房平均需要付出20年的家庭净收入。

These costs mean “it’s a struggle for many companies to retain top talent”, says Joe Zhou, head of research at property group JLL China. But he adds that few companies have the financial might of the tech groups to make similar offers.

房地产咨询机构仲量联行(JLL)中国区研究部总监周志锋(Joe Zhou)表示，这样的成本意味着，“对于很多公司而言，要想留住优秀人才很难”。他补充称，很少有公司具备科技公司那样的财力来提供类似的福利。

Last year an average central Shanghai apartment, of 120-130 sq m, cost Rmb15m ($2.2m), according to property consultancy JLL, up from Rmb2.4m a decade ago.

根据仲量联行的数据，去年，上海市中心一套120至130平方米的普遍公寓售价在1500万元人民币（合220万美元）左右，而10年前才240万元人民币。

This is one of the biggest issues for entrepreneurs and employees in the city, known as Asia’s Silicon⁹ Valley and home to some 11m people.

在被誉为“亚洲硅谷”、有1100万人口的深圳，住房问题是企业家和员工要面对的最大问题之一。

“Young people?.?.?.?can’t hope to buy a home in Shenzhen,” says Glenn Zhu, founder¹⁰ and chief executive of Shenzhen-based Iown, who graduated 13 years ago thinking he would be a homeowner within five years. “That’s a big problem.”

总部位于深圳的埃微(Iown)的创始人兼首席执行官祝红甲(Glenn Zhu)表示：“年轻人……不敢指望在深圳买房，这是一个大问题。”13年前毕业时他的想法是在5年内买房。

Efforts to retain staff by offering home buying incentives¹¹ is not restricted to the biggest tech players. Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has teamed up with China Vanke, one of the country’s biggest real estate developers, to build flats in Beijing that will be offered to employees, reportedly at steep discounts.

通过提供购房激励来留住员工的不只是大型科技公司。智能手机制造商小米(Xiaomi)已与中国最大房地产开发商之一万科(China Vanke)合作，将在北京建房，据报道，这些房子将以大幅折扣价卖给员工。