Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway exits China's BYD, filing shows

BEIJING, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N has fully exited Chinese automaker BYD 1211.HK 002594.SZ, a filing showed, ending a 17-year investment that grew over 20-fold in value in that period.

The filing by Berkshire's energy subsidiary recorded the value of its BYD investment as zero as of end-March, down from $415 million at the end of 2024.

Buffett's company began investing in Shenzhen-based BYD in 2008, when it paid $230 million for about 225 million shares, equivalent to a 10% stake at the time.

It began selling those shares in 2022 after BYD's share price had risen more than twentyfold.

Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. CNBC first reported Berkshire exiting its stake on Sunday.

Li Yunfei, BYD's general manager of branding and public relations, in a post on his official Weibo account thanked Berkshire for its "investment, help and companionship over the past 17 years."

He described the stake sale as a "normal" stock investment trade. BYD did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The biggest rival to Tesla TSLA.O saw quarterly profit fall for the first time in three and a half years as its expansion hit a speed bump amid a government campaign against price wars.

BYD's domestic sales, which make up nearly 80% of its global shipments, fell for a fourth straight month in August. It has cut the annual sales target by as much as 16% to 4.6 million vehicles, Reuters reported.