(Yicai Global) Sept. 27 -- HERE Technologies, a provider of mapping data and related services, said yesterday that its joint venture in China with NavInfo Co. [SHE:002405] has started operation, meaning that HERE can begin extending its location services to the country.

NavInfo Co. is a leading provider of digital maps and location services in China, and the two companies made plans to cooperate on services for Chinese and global customers across a range of industries, including the automotive market where they have already worked together to make and offer high-definition mapping and location services for autonomous cars, HERE said.

HERE said last December that NavInfo, Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700], and Singaporean investment firm GIC Pte had plans to acquire a 10-percent stake in it. The previously-announced proposal for was halted because the parties believed there was no practicable path to receiving the necessary approval for the transaction to proceed, HERE said.

However, HERE's planned strategic cooperation with Tencent, a leading provider of internet value-added services in China, was in progress. Tencent was exploring the use of HERE mapping and location platform services in its own products and services in China and internationally, HERE said.