HTC Out, Fabrics In On The Taiwan 50 Index

More bad news for Taiwan’s premier smartphone manufacturer HTC Corp. as the Taiwan Stock Exchange has removed HTC from its Taiwan 50 index following plummeting share prices.

HTC’s share price, which declined 66.5% over the year on losses stemming from heightened competition and eroded earnings, was NT$61.50 as of September 23. The smartphone vendor will be replaced with Eclat Textile Co., a maker of elastic functional fabric that has seen a 55% rise in its value over the year. The Taiwan 50 Index, in conjunction with the FTSE global index compiler, tracks the 50 large-cap stocks that account for 70% of the local bourse’s total capitalization.