During the course of a Monday interview with German newspaper Die Welt (The World), Research in Motion's CEO Thorsten Heins hinted at the possibility of licensing deals and asset sales; thereby leading to an over 10 percent jump - to CAN$17.41 - in the RIM stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

According to the newspaper report, Heins - who completes one year as the RIM CEO this week - said that even though the key focus of RIM currently is on the soon-to-be-launched smartphones running its new BlackBerry 10
(BB10) operating system, the company is also still mulling a possible licensing of its software or selling off its hardware division.

Asserting that licensing the BB10 OS or disposing off the company's hardware unit is part of RIM's "comprehensive review," Heins told the newspaper: "The main thing for now is to successfully introduce Blackberry 10. Then we'll see."

Heins further added that though there are a number of possibilities that RIM can consider, including the sale of its hardware production and/or licensing the new BlackBerry 10 software, the company presently does not feel that there is need to make "any rushed decisions."

Meanwhile, terming the forthcoming launch of BB10 OS as a crucial moment and a "milestone" for RIM, Heins said that the company will take any further decision on the licensing and asset sale possibilities only after seeing the response to its BB10 devices.