Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK), the investment holding firm, run by revered investor Warren Buffett on Monday disclosed trimming stake in China-based electric-vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY) (OTC:BYDDF).
What Happened: Berkshire sold 1.3 million Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD, with the sale fetching the firm proceeds of HK$ 310.5 million ($39.8 million), a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed. The disposal was done on June 11.
Berkshire has been offloading shares of BYD in small quantities over the years, and the most recent divestment has left it with a stake of 6.90%, down from 7.98% in late October 2023, when it sold 820,500 shares.
Why It's Important: Berkshire first invested in BYD in 2008 at the behest of Buffett's trusted lieutenant Charlie Munger. The duo paid $232 million back then to pocket 225 million BYD shares, representing 25% of the company's Hong Kong-listed shares, or 9.9% of the overall company, a Business Insider report said.
Thanks to a string of profit taking in the stock, the stake now stands reduced below the 10% level.
BYD, which initially started out as an ICE vehicle manufacturer, transitioned to a fully electric company in 2022. The company now sells both battery EVs and hybrids and is among the top sellers of new-energy vehicles in China. It has also expanded its offerings to developing markets overseas to capitalize on the demand for low-cost EVs in these countries. BYD also has a thriving EV battery manufacturing business.
In a Feb. 2023 annual meeting of Daily Journal, Munger lauded BYD as the frontrunner in the EV arena. "I have never helped do anything at Berkshire that was as good as BYD," he reportedly said.
Previously, he had referred to BYD founder Wang Chuanfu as a "combination of Thomas Edison and Jack Welch."
The successive trimming may not flag a lack of confidence on the part of Buffett and the team. Berkshire recently slashed its position in Apple, its top holding, and Buffett clarified at the annual shareholder meeting that the selling was to meet tax expenses and the desire to hold cash amid an uncertain economic environment.
The Hong Kong-listed BYD shares ended Monday's session up 1.74% at HK$ 233.40. The U.S.-listed ADRs of BYD trading over the counter under the ticker symbol BYDDY, ended Friday's session down 0.78% at $58.20, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo via Shutterstock
由廣受推崇的投資者禾倫•巴菲特創立的方正證券，週一披露減持中國電動汽車製造商比亞迪股份有限公司(OTC:BYDDY)(OTC:BYDDF)的持股。
事件經過：根據香港交易所公告，伯克希爾削減了1.3百萬股比亞迪香港上市股票，本次出售爲公司帶來3.105億港元(約合3980萬美元)的收益。出售行爲發生於6月11日。
伯克希爾多年來一直以小量出售BYD的股份，最新的減持使其持股比例從2023年10月末的7.98%降至6.90%，當時它售出了82.05萬股。
爲什麼它很重要：2008年在巴菲特忠實的副手查理•芒格的要求下，伯克希爾投資BYD。當時，這對二人花費2.32億美元，買入2.25億股比亞迪香港上市股票，相當於公司香港上市股票總數的25%，或公司總股本的9.9%。據《商業內幕》報道。
由於拋售股票盈利，伯克希爾的持股比例現已降至10%以下。
BYD最初是一家內燃機車輛製造商，到2022年逐步轉型爲一家全電公司。公司現在銷售電池電動車和混合動力，並是中國新能源汽車的主要銷售商。它還擴大了其在境外發展市場的產品線，以利用這些國家對低成本電動汽車的需求。BYD還擁有一家蓬勃發展的電池製造業務。
據報道，芒格在2023年每日日報的年度會議上稱讚BYD是電動汽車行業的先行者。 "我從來沒有在伯克希爾做過比BYD更好的事情。"
之前，芒格曾稱比亞迪創始人王傳福爲"托馬斯·愛迪生和傑克·韋爾奇的組合"。
連續的削減並不意味着巴菲特和團隊缺乏信心。伯克希爾最大的頭寸股份蘋果公司隨着稅收負擔和不確定的經濟環境而被削減，巴菲特在股東大會上明確表示，減持是爲了支付稅收和持有現金。
香港上市的比亞迪股票收盤價爲233.40港元，比亞迪美國衍生股(BYDDY)場外交易股票在上週五的交易中下跌了0.78美元，報58.20美元，根據Benzinga Pro數據顯示。
圖片來自shutterstock。
