Berkshire Hathaway lowers its stake in Chinese electrical manufacturer BYD

Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, reduced its investment in BYD, the Chinese firm that surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles last year.

A document submitted to the Hong Kong stock market on Monday states that Berkshire sold 1.3 million shares of BYD, which were listed in Hong Kong, for $39.8 million.

Following the transaction, Berkshire’s ownership in BYD’s issued H shares dropped from 7.02% to 6.90%.

In 2008, Berkshire started investing in BYD, a company located in Shenzhen. At the time, the company paid $230 million for around 225 million shares, or 10% of the total.

By the time it started selling shares in 2022, BYD’s stock had increased by more than 20 times. From its peak in June 2022, the share price dropped by almost thirty percent.