Many Apple fans in Singapore and Hong Kong would love to lay their hands on the new iPhone 5 right away but they have to wait until next week. The good news is that they are not alone waiting for the new device.

The new phone starts shipping on 21 September in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Britain. It will hit 100 countries by year's end in the fastest international rollout for an iPhone so far, according to a statement by Apple.

Singapore's telcos SingTel, StarHub and M1 have confirmed the availability of the new phone from 21 September.

"SingTel today announced it will offer iPhone 5, the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, to customers in Singapore beginning Friday, September 21," the telco said on its website.

Customers in Singapore can start placing their pre-orders this Friday, 14 September, according to a report by The Straits Times (13 Sep).

Update: We checked with SingTel today (14 Sep) and they said they have no information on the pre-orders. They advise customers to check their websites for updates.

1 

View Vendors' Profiles.

QlikTech Singapore Pte Ltd Barracuda Networks Kingdee International Software Group (H.K.) Ltd. CommScope Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd IDT Telecom Asia Pacific Limited Lexmark International Vision Solutions Mesiniaga Berhad TIBCO Software Inc. Avocent Asia Pacific Pte Ltd Mahindra Satyam T-Systems Singapore Pte Ltd Savi Technology Asia Pte Ltd