Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berksshire Hathaway, took pictures during his trip to Japan in 2011.
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Berksshire Hathaway has been dedicated to his Japanese investment in the long run and has reached an agreement with companies to own above 10% of the borders, Warren Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders published on Saturday.
“From the beginning, we also agreed to keep Berkshire’s stakes below 10% of the shares of each company. But as we approached this limit, five companies agreed to moderately relax the upper border,” Buffett said. “Over time, you will probably see Berkshire’s property over all five rise.”
The Japanese names in Berksshire are portfolio Itoch,, Marubeni,, Mitsubishi,, Mitsui and Sumitomo. All five are the biggest “Sogo Shosha” or trading houses in Japan that invest in different sectors at home and abroad – “in a way that is something like Berksshire himself,” Buffet said. Berksshire first bought companies in July 2019.
At the end of 2024, the market value of the Japanese share in Berksshire was $ 23.5 billion and a total cost of $ 13.8 billion. The investor emphasized the management of companies, relations with their investors, as well as capital implementation strategies.
Japanese trading houses in the last year
Buffett sold Japanese debt to funding for Berkshire shares in Japanese companies. The issuance of bonds with denominated Jen also allows Buffett to reduce the risks associated with foreign exchange. Berksshire reported to $ 2.3 billion in profits after taxing in his Japanese bonds, of which $ 850 million was only from $ 2024 because of the power of dollars, which respected about 11% compared to Jen 2024.
“We like the current mathematics of our strategy of balanced Jene,” Buffett said. He added that the named heir “Greg (Abel) and I do not have a view of future foreign currency courses and therefore seek a position that approaches the neutrality of the currency.”
Oracle of Omaha predicts an annual income from dividend from its share of five Japanese trading houses will come around $ 812 million.
“I expect that Greg and his possible heirs of the long decade will hold this Japanese position and that Berksshire will find other ways for a productive collaboration with five companies in the future,” Buffett said.
To be sure, five Japanese trading houses fought last year. IToch and Maruben were reduced by more than 8%at the time, while Mitsubishi fell 26%. Mitsui and Sumitomo lost 16%and 10%during this period.