(Yicai Global) May 27 -- The value of China's self-developed global navigation system is expected to more than double to CNY1 trillion (USD156.4 billion) over the five years ending in 2025, according to a senior official.

The gross industrial value of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is growing at an average annual rate of more than 20 percent, Yang Jun, deputy director at the China Satellite Navigation Office, said at the 12th China Satellite Navigation Conference yesterday.

BeiDou is the third global satellite navigation system after its US and Russian counterparts.

"World-leading navigation firms are expected to be born in China with BeiDou navigation technologies," Yu Wenxian, head of the Shanghai BeiDou Research Institute, told Yicai Global.

But the ambitions go farther. "In the future, Beidou satellites will create and lead demand," Lin Baojun, chief designer of third-generation BeiDou satellites, told Yicai Global. "BeiDou will not only provide navigation for the Earth, but also support astronomical navigation in deep space."

The Blue Ocean of ICVs

BeiDou chips are promoted in the fast-developing intelligent connected vehicle sector, which should boost the semiconductor industry, said Yu. The BeiDou system has a very long industrial chain, with investment potential in various links from satellite manufacturing, chips, modules, and receiver boards to data integration, Yu added.

Some of the potential is already realized. Several vendors unveiled related chips, supporting ICVs at the 12th China Satellite Navigation Achievement Expo, held at the same time as the other conference in Nanchang.

Some of the automotive chip vendors included Huace Navigation Technology, which showcased its Xuanji, as well as BDStar Navigation, whose product is used in Yi, a connected vehicle of a joint venture between Jiangling Motors Group and France’s Renault.

Such next-generation technologies are entering the market. Huace has already logged 100,000 Xuanji shipments, said Vice President Jiang Chunsheng. The annual figure should stand between 100,000 and 200,000, he added.

BDStar has reached millions of ICV chip shipments, said a product manager.

UniStrong Science & Technology has been enjoying an annual 20-percent growth rate in its BeiDou navigation products business, said an executive at the company.

Hi-target Navigation Tech and Alibaba Group Holding's affiliate Qianxun Spatial Intelligence are also at the achievement expo, displaying their high-precision products for vehicles.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi