(Telecompaper) Qualcomm is likely to pay China a record fine of around USD 1 billion, ending a 14-month investigation into anti-competitive practices, Reuters reports. The US-based chipmaker and the Chinese regulator made significant progress during talks in the past week and a settlement could be announced in the coming days, an unnamed source told the news agency. The deal may also see Qualcomm lower its royalty rates by around a third on patents used in China. China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will soon release a new antitrust settlement, said Xu Kunlin, the head of the agency's antitrust division, at a law conference 09 February, according to an article posted on the website of the official Securities Times. "Qualcomm will be fined several times the total amount the NDRC fined last year," he said. A Qualcomm spokeswoman declined to comment.