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BYD stock plunges after Buffett’s Berkshire trims stake in China’s biggest electric-car maker

  • Stock plunges 12 per cent in Hong Kong after the legendary US investor appears to have trimmed stake in BYD for a second time
  • Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway cuts its holding in H shares on August 24 after weeks of speculation, according to exchange filing

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Investor Warren Buffett, center, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, second from right, Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, second from left, and BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, right, unveil BYD’s M6 model in Beijing on September 29, 2010. Photo: AP
Cheryl Heng
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has trimmed its stake in BYD Co, weeks after speculation the legendary US investor was pulling out of its bet on China’s biggest electric vehicle producer and Tesla’s biggest challenger. The stock plunged.
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Berkshire sold 1.33 million shares at an average of HK$277.10 apiece, valuing the sale at HK$369 million (US$47 million) on August 24, according to a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The shares traded between HK$257 and HK$272.20 on that day.

BYD sank 7.9 per cent to HK$242.20 at the close of Wednesday trading, the most in seven weeks, in addition to a 0.5 per cent loss on Tuesday. The two-day rout erased about HK$71 billion of capitalisation from the Shenzhen-based company, according to Refinitiv data.

The sale reduced Berkshire’s stake in BYD’s H shares to 19.92 per cent from 20.04 per cent, according to the filing. The company reported a starting position of 220.5 million shares preceding the August 24 sale, versus its last reported holding of 225 million shares or a 20.49 per cent stake in BYD’s interim report published this week. That suggests an earlier undisclosed sale of 4.95 million shares by Berkshire.

02:52

Luxury shopping centres open new battleground for China’s electric car makers

Luxury shopping centres open new battleground for China’s electric car makers
BYD is China’s biggest EV maker, and outsold Tesla in the first half this year to become the world’s biggest in the industry by sales. The firm tripled its interim earnings after vehicle sales jumped 300 per cent, this week’s report card showed.
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The sale came amid concerns China’s zero-Covid policy will disrupt the industry again after a series of lockdowns in key manufacturing bases hit factories producing electric vehicles and parts for Apple since last year. Power cuts this month have also roiled the industry, putting owners of 1 million EVs at risk as charging stations shut down.

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