The latest documents show that Berkshire Hathaway, the company owned by renowned American investor Warren Buffett, has once again sold its stake in Chinese electric car giant BYD, valued at $39.8 million. This is the latest move in Buffett’s continued reduction of BYD holdings.
According to Reuters, based on documents submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday, Buffett’s company recently sold 1.3 million shares of BYD listed in Hong Kong for 310.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($39.8 million).
The sale took place on June 11, reducing Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in BYD’s H-shares from 7.02% to 6.90%.
The company began investing in BYD in 2008, purchasing around 225 million shares for $230 million, equivalent to a 10% stake. After BYD’s stock price surged, Berkshire Hathaway started selling the electric car manufacturer’s shares in 2022 and continued in 2023. In October 2023, Berkshire sold 820,500 shares of BYD’s Hong Kong-listed stock, following previous sales of 1.96 million shares in the months prior.
BYD’s stock price has dropped by approximately 30% since reaching its peak in June 2022.
Buffett’s sale of BYD shares comes amid intense competition in the Chinese electric car market. Tesla surpassed BYD in April to reclaim the top spot as the largest electric vehicle manufacturer.
Although Buffett has not provided an explanation for further reducing Berkshire’s stake in BYD, reports from “Asia Financial” suggest that a major concern for investors like Buffett remains the deteriorating trade and technology relations between the US and China – an issue the investment tycoon warned about last year.
Bloomberg analyst Matthew Palazola previously indicated that regardless of how Berkshire ultimately handles its BYD holdings, the impact on Berkshire’s financial condition is minimal. It is estimated that the investment in BYD represents only 2% of Berkshire’s overall investment portfolio.