E-commerce giant Alibaba and China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco Group) are planning to use the country’s Beidou navigation system for the joint firm they have set up to provide location-based services, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Norinco Group, a Shanghai-based firm, said that it has 2 billion yuan (about $310 million) in registered capital, and it will have a 50-percent share in the joint firm.
The report said that the joint venture plans to provide location-based services and solutions using the country's Beidou Navigation Satellite system and online networks for businesses in the country.
The Beidou project, named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, was formally launched in 1994, some 20 years after the global positioning system (GPS) was launched.
Beidou is one of four navigation systems currently used worldwide. The United States has its GPS, Russia uses GLONASS, and the European Union has its Galileo system.
According to the report, Norinco Group is the company authorized by the government to use the system for research and application.
On July 25, China has successfully launched two satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province for its global navigation and positioning network. The two satellites were the 18th and 19th spacecraft launched by the country for its homegrown navigation system.
Joining the 17th satellite launched in late March, the two recently launched satellites will test a new type of navigation signal system and inter-satellite link, as well as provide navigation services, as part of the network.