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HTC is being removed from a major index on Taiwan’s stock exchange on September 21

HTC Corporation, Taiwan smartphones manufacturer, and a public listed company will be removed from Taiwan Stock Exchange's FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 index. The removal will be effective on September 21. Starting from the said date, HTC will still remain on the board but under FTSE TWSE Taiwan Mid-cap 100 Index.

The latest announcement comes surface just days after the company reported its lowest revenue in eight years. Besides low revenue report, the company is currently planning to lay off 15 percent of its workforce which is around 2, 300 workers and reduce their operating cost as much as 35 percent according to CNET News. The local media, Focus Taiwan also reported that the company is planning to slash 600 more workers in their Taoyuan and Xindian factory.

The financially troubled company could not be listed under the FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 index as the index represent 50 most valuable company in Taiwan with market capital comprising of 70 percent of the total market share worth $715 billion. While the Mid-Cap 100 only represent 20 percent of the market shares.

ZDNet in their report said that a fabric manufacturer company, Eclat Textile will be replacing HTC on the main board. The company has seen their share increase 55 percent in this year alone. While HTC on the other hand, saw their stock tumble 95 percent since its highest price in April 2011. The company is currently trading with a market value lower than its cash on hand, reported Bloomberg in early August.

One of Deutsche Bank AG analyst did not agree with the move said that "We think, these (cost-cutting) efforts are not enough to turn HTC around in the next two years." According to a global report cited by CNET News, HTC market share in the smartphone industry had drop more than 8 percent from 10.7 percent in 2011.

HTC is currently planning to become more diversified in their business in an effort to regain their revenue. After their smartphone sales One M9 failed to meet their expectation this year, HTC will focus more on other products line such as high-end smartphones and accessories. The company also has announced to release Vive headset in 2016, a virtual reality device that was developed together with Valve, a video game developer company.

HTC is the first manufacturer to use the Google's Android Software in a mobile device. Representative from the company has not made any comment regarding this news and the company's website also did not make any official statement.  


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