Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
According to the second quarter HKEx filing, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold 1.33 million shares in the Chinese automaker BYD at an average price of HK $277.10 per share on August 24 — decreasing its stake from 20.04% to 19.92%.
In 2008, Warren Buffett bought 225 million shares at a price of HK$8 per share and is currently BYD’s fourth-largest shareholder via Western Capital LLC, which is 100% controlled by Berkshire Hathaway.
In mid-July, BYD saw its share price plunge by 11.93% to HK$270.20 on July 12 after 225 million BYD shares were transferred to Citibank. On July 11, Citi Bank’s position increased by 225 million shares to a total of 389 million shares, raising its ownership to 35.39%.
At the time, the transfer of 225 million shares to Citibank generated speculation given that the value is exactly the same as Berkshire Hathaway was holding in the last filing.
By then, BYD‘s Securities Affairs department commented, “The data we are seeing now is that Buffett’s holdings have not changed at present. Its shareholding ratio is very large, and if it involves changes in shares, it will definitely be disclosed. ”
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter