Qtel Group will take advantage of the upcoming stock market listing of the Iraqi cellco, Asiacell to raise its existing holding in the company, a stock exchange official has told Reuters.

In June 2012, Qtel entered into an agreement to double its shareholding in Asiacell from 30 per cent to 60 per cent, and currently owns just under 54 per cent of the cellco, which is listing 25 per cent of its shares on the Baghdad stock market in a move that will raise around US$1.3 billion.

Although Asiacell is required to list its shares on the stock market as a condition of its operating licence, there has been some ambiguity about which of the current shareholders is selling their stake, or if this would be diluting their existing holdings through a fresh placement of shares.

Layth Sulaiman, head of the ISX board of governors, told Reuters that he understood Qtel would not reduce its stake in Asiacell through the offer.

The shares will be listed from February 3 in what is one of the largest share offerings in the region for several years. The other two mobile networks are also required to list their shares on the stock exchange.

Ericsson reported a loss for the fourth quarter of 2012, resulting from its anticipated SEK8 billion (US$1.27 billion) charge related to its ST-Ericsson joint venture. But the results were well received, due to the fact that there are positive signs for its core operations as 2013 progresses.

Hans Vestberg, president and CEO, noted in a statement that during the last year the company’s performance had been mixed, with its Networks unit in particular having a “challenging” twelve months.

Ericsson reported a fourth quarter net loss of SEK6.3 billion, compared with a profit of SEK1.5 billion in Q4 2011, on revenue of SEK66.9 billion, up five per cent from SEK63.7 billion.

For the full year, it saw a profit of SEK5.9 billion, compared with a prior-year profit of SEK12.6 billion, on sales of SEK227.8 billion, compared with SEK226.9 billion.

In Q4, sales in its Networks business were SEK35.3 billion, up six per cent year-on-year, with this growth “mainly driven by North America”.

CDMA sales were down 18 per cent year-on-year (although up over the previous quarter due to “temporary capacity needs”), with the company noting that this business is “expected to continue to decline as North American operators continue their transition to LTE”.

Global Services sales increased by four per cent year-on-year to SEK28 billion, to represent 42 per cent of group sales in the quarter.

Separately, ST-Ericsson reported a Q4 net loss of US$169 million, compared with a loss of US$241 million in Q411, on sales of US$358 million, down from $409 million.

Qualcomm has reported its first-fiscal quarter results for the last three months of 2012, and announced that its revenues rose by 29 per cent year-on-year to reach US$6 billion, while net profit jumped by 36 per cent to US$1.9 billion.

Revenues were driven by MSM chip shipments, which were up by 17 per cent at 182 million units.

Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm said: "Our broad licensing partnerships and extensive chipset roadmap, including our recently announced best-in-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and 600 processors, position us well for strong growth, and we are pleased to be raising our revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2013."

The company’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totalled US$28.4 billion at the end of 2012, compared to $22 billion at the end of 2011.

SingTel has announced plans to sell its entire 30 per cent stake in Pakistan’s Warid Telecom for around US$150 million.

The operator has negotiated a sale with a unit of the Abu Dhabi Group, which owns the remaining 70 per cent of Warid Telecom, SingTel said in a stock exchange filing.

SingTel paid around US$758 million for its 30 per cent stake in Pakistan’s third-largest mobile operator in 2007. According to the filing, after all the financial variables are taken into account, the company will be taking an S$230 million (US$186.3 million) loss on the disposal.

SingTel said in the filing that it had made the decision to sell “following a strategic review of the investment, its competitive position and opportunity,” and that the price tag was determined “on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.”

The terms of the transaction also give SingTel the rights to a 7.5 per cent share of the proceeds from any future sale or IPO of the Pakistani operator, which could eventually reduce SingTel’s loss on the investment.

If the transaction closes – which is contingent of the approval of some of Warid’s creditors – Warid will no longer be counted as one of SingTel’s regional mobile associate companies.

Research In Motion (RIM) launched the first devices powered by its long-anticipated BlackBerry 10 platform at a multi-national launch event today, at the same time announcing it is dropping the ‘Research In Motion’ moniker.

“We have re-invented this company, and we wanted to reflect this in our brand,” said CEO Thorsten Heins. The firm will now be known simply as ‘BlackBerry’.

The company is releasing two LTE-enabled devices: the 4.2-inch touchscreen-only Z10 and the hybrid 3.1-inch touchscreen/Qwerty Q10.

“We know there are a lot of physical keyboard lovers out there,” Heins said.

Many of the key features of BlackBerry 10 have already been demonstrated at various events, although some features have been updated as the devices reach the market.

At the heart of the new OS is the BlackBerry Hub, an integrated contacts and social networking app with support for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Messages and updates can be read and posted without the need to leave BlackBerry Hub, and contact information can be viewed regardless of the app in which it is stored.

It also supports the BlackBerry Balance feature, which enables users to switch between private and work profiles, with the ability to run both personal and work apps at the same time while keeping corporate data secure and encrypted.

The company’s BBM messenger service has also gained support for voice and video calls, and enables users to share screens in real-time.

Supporting the new devices is a refreshed BlackBerry World store, which includes a range of music and video as well as apps. The app store launches with more than 70,000 apps already available to support the launch of the first BB10 devices.

According to Heins, the devices will have cleared testing with 110 operators by the end of February 2013, although some markets are more advanced than others, with the Z10 leading the way ahead of the Q10.

The first market to see launches is the UK, with Z10 availability scheduled for January 31, with debuts in Canada and UAE early in February.

The ‘big four’ US operators – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint – are set to offer BlackBerry 10 devices in March.

While pricing is likely to vary by market, Heins said the Z10 will be priced at US$149 with a “three year contract”.

The Q10 will follow in April.