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.

Zain Saudi Arabia has deferred repayment on a US$2.4 billion loan by a further four weeks, the company announced.

In a statement to the Saudi stock exchange, the company delayed repayment of the Murabaha facility until February 27. It had been due to be repaid last year, but the company has struggled to raise the funds to rollover the debt.

The company also warned that the new deadline may be extended again if it cannot secure an agreement with lenders. The company has already paid back US$750 million of the debt, and last year raised US$1.6 billion in a rights issue from shareholders.

Zain KSA has found operating in the local market particularly challenging since paying US$6.1 billion for an operating licence in August 2008.

Zain Group owns a 37 per cent stake in the Zain KSA and failed in an attempt in 2011 to sell its holding to Batelco.

China Mobile is said to be looking at investing in five new markets, suggesting that the world’s largest mobile operator is considering a rare foray overseas.

According to a report in China’s English-language Morning Whistle newspaper, China Mobile is planning “analysis of the macroeconomic investment environment in five countries,” notably Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Portugal, and North Korea.

The operator is said to have invited bids from several consulting firms to conduct the studies.

China Mobile’s only venture outside of its home market to date has been in Pakistan. In 2007, the company paid US$560 million for the country’s fifth-largest mobile network Paktel. But the subsidiary – now known as CMPak – has not gained much market share and remains a minor player in a crowded market.

Explaining China Mobile’s lack of international expansion since, Wang Jianzhou, the cellco’s chairman, said last year that the company had been held back by high prices.

“We saw opportunities [overseas], but the prices are far too high,” he said. “That’s why China Mobile has made little progress in overseas expansion in recent years.”