Buffett Sells More BYD Shares in China... Stake Down to 9.87%

Difficulties in the Automotive Industry Mentioned at the Shareholders' Meeting
"Once a Winner, Not Always a Winner"

'The Sage of Omaha,' Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has sold more shares of the Chinese electric vehicle company BYD. The stake, which once reached 20%, has fallen below 10%.

According to local media such as China Securities Journal and Pengpai News on the 9th, Berkshire Hathaway sold 1,961,000 shares of BYD on the 2nd at HKD 235.64 per share (approximately KRW 39,809). This additional sale came about a month after disposing of 2.48 million shares last month. Buffett has been selling BYD shares more than ten times since August last year. As a result, Berkshire Hathaway's BYD shareholding stands at 183 million shares, with the stake dropping from nearly 20% to 9.87%.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Buffett's interest in BYD dates back to September 2008. During the financial crisis, he purchased 225 million shares of BYD at HKD 8 per share, and the average investment return since then has reached 25 times. When the first stake sale was announced last August, BYD's stock price plunged 13% intraday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, causing a shock.

At the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting held on the 6th in Buffett's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, he reportedly expressed concerns about the overall automotive industry. At the event, he said, "I have long felt that the automotive industry is very difficult," emphasizing, "There are competitors worldwide, but just because you were once a winner doesn't mean you will always be a winner." He also cited Ford as an example. Regarding BYD, Buffett's partner Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, mentioned, "If you visit BYD's factories in China, you will see robots being used everywhere," adding, "Globally, the use of robots will increase even more in the future."

In April, Buffett also stated in an interview with CNBC that Berkshire would not rush to sell its BYD stake but would "look for better investment opportunities."

Meanwhile, BYD reported revenue of 120.173 billion yuan and net profit of 4.13 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year. Although these figures represent increases of 79.83% and 410.89% year-on-year, respectively, they decreased by 23.1% and 43.5% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.