Global Courant 2023-04-11 09:01:06
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan in 2011.
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Shares of Japanese trading houses rose in Tuesday afternoon’s trading following Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathawaysaid he intends to increase his holdings.
In an interview with NikkeiBuffett said he is considering additional investments in five major Japanese trading houses, adding that he was “very proud” of his existing investments in them.
The shares of Mitsubishi Corp. were up 2.7% in Japanese afternoon trading, Mitsui & Co. were up 2.6%, Itochu Corp. climbed 2.5% and Marubeni Corp. increased by 3.7%. Sumitomo Corp. also increased by 2.7%.
Buffett told Nikkei he plans to meet with the companies later in the week “to really just have a discussion about their companies and emphasize our support,” the report said.
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Japan’s five largest trading companies, known as sogo shosha, are conglomerates that import everything from energy and metals to food and textiles into resource-scarce Japan. They also provide services to manufacturers. The trading houses have contributed to the growth of the Japanese economy and contributed to the globalization of the company.
Buffett told Nikkei that he is currently a 7.4% stake in Itochu – about a 0.6 percentage point increase from the 6.8% stake disclosed in the November filings.
Late last year, Berkshire Hathaway increased its holdings in Japan’s five leading trading houses by at least 1 percentage point to more than 6% each — following its initial purchase in August, when Buffett acquired more than $6 billion worth of holdings on his 90th birthday. .
November filings showed that Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings were 6.6% in Mitsubishi Corp., 6.6% in Mitsui & Co., 6.2% in Itochu Corp., 6.8% in Marubeni Corp. and 6.6% in Sumitomo Corp.
Nikkei individually reported that Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is preparing another issue of yen-denominated bonds, which was seen as a signal that the conglomerate would increase its investment in Japan.
– CNBC’s Becky Quick contributed to this report
