Berkshire Plans to Long-Term Hold Stake in Japan's Five Major Trading Companies, Related Stocks Rally

BlockBeats News, September 3: Japanese trading house stocks rose on Thursday, after Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel said the company plans to continue holding stakes in these trading houses for decades to come.

Trading house stocks were among the biggest gainers in the Nikkei index on Thursday. Mitsubishi Corp rose as much as 4.5%, hitting its highest level since May; Sumitomo Corp, Mitsui & Co., Itochu Corp, and Marubeni all rose over 2.5%. Berkshire currently holds approximately 10% of each of these five trading houses.

Abel, who took over as CEO in January from Buffett, said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that Berkshire's ownership of Japanese trading house stocks is a "long-term investment," with plans to hold for decades. Since Berkshire disclosed its holdings in 2020, the stock prices of these Japanese trading houses have benefited from the Buffett connection. An analyst at East Tokyo Intelligence Lab said Abel's renewed confidence "may reignite investor interest in trading house stocks."