Chinese navigation companies surpass 300 billion yuan in value

Chinese space-based positioning and navigation companies have surpassed 300 billion yuan ($43.7 billion) in value, according to a report published Wednesday.

The 2019 White Paper on China's Satellite Navigation and Positioning Industries, compiled by the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location-Based Services Association of China, said the overall value of these businesses reached 301.6 billion yuan in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 18.3 percent.

The report said that China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System played an important role in the growth of related industries in 2018, as it contributed 80 percent of turnover in businesses related to chips, software and terminal devices – key elements for space-based navigation and positioning services.

The system is now used in dozens of industries and in the public sector in China, such as transportation, electricity, fishing, mining and agriculture, and more than 80 million Beidou-based terminal devices have been sold and are in use, the report said.

The report further found that more than 500,000 Chinese people work at around 14,000 domestic institutes and companies using Beidou and other satellite navigation and positioning services.

Beidou is one of the four space-based navigation networks, along with the US's GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo.

Since 2000, when the first Beidou satellite entered orbit, 48 system satellites, including four experimental devices, have been launched and several have retired.

Beidou began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to public users in China and parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.

The system on December 27 started providing global services. It is scheduled to be complete around 2020, according to plans from the China Satellite Navigation Office.

By the end of 2020, Beidou will have around 30 satellites in service and offer improved capabilities and services, the office said.

Worldwide, Beidou-based devices have been sold to more than 90 countries and regions.

The Chinese system has been adopted by several international institutions, including the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization.