FT: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway lifts stakes in Japanese trading houses

Key topics.Berkshire raises stakes in Japan's top five trading houses.Buffett plans to hold investments for decades, admiring their business model.Commodity prices, inflation, and high rates may challenge future growth..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Harry Dempsey in Tokyo___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Move comes after US investment group agreed with companies last month to relax 10% cap on holdings.Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has increased its shareholdings in Japan's five biggest trading houses after negotiating to remove a 10 per cent ceiling for its investment in businesses known for trading everything from noodles to natural resources..The US investment conglomerate raised its stake in Mitsubishi Corporation from 8.31 per cent to 9.67 per cent, and in Mitsui from 8.09 per cent to 9.82 per cent, according to filings with Japan's securities regulator published on Monday. It also lifted its stake in Itochu, Marubeni and Sumitomo Corporation by about a percentage point..None of the Berkshire holdings have hit the 10 per cent cap that the company agreed with the trading houses last month to "moderately relax"..The trading houses are vital to Japan as importers of raw materials such as oil, gas, iron ore and copper and for supporting the country's car, electronics and machinery export sectors..Buffett first disclosed Berkshire's investments in the trading houses in 2020 and said in his annual shareholder letter last month that his "admiration for these companies has consistently grown"..Read more: 🔒 Berkshire Hathaway: Navigating the post-Buffett era.The investor known as the "Oracle of Omaha" outlined plans to hold the stakes for "many decades" and praised the companies for their similarity to Berkshire, which started as a textiles manufacturer before becoming a sprawling investment conglomerate..Berkshire Hathaway's Japanese trading house stakes.Company.Current stake.Previous stake.Mitsui & Co.9.82%.8.09%.Mitsubishi Corporation.9.67%.8.31%.Marubeni.9.3%.8.3%.Sumitomo Corporation.9.29%.8.23%.Itochu.8.53%.7.47%.Source: Financial Services Agency of Japan.Likewise, Japan's trading houses have taken long-term stakes in businesses spanning salmon farms, convenience stores and medical insurers..While Berkshire has been doubling down on the Japanese companies, it has also built up a record cash pile that hit $334.2bn at the end of last year after selling equities more broadly..Thanh Ha Pham, analyst at Jefferies, said he would be looking at the trading houses' shareholder return policies when they announced results for the full year ending in March..But he cautioned that the positive impact of Buffett's investments would be counteracted by hurdles for the companies, including softening prices for commodities in which they are invested, high interest rates and the impact of inflation on consumer spending in Japan..Read also:.🔒 Warren Buffett's life advice may be more valuable than his portfolio: Beth Kowitt🔒 FT: Warren Buffett's Apple share sales and cash pile spark intrigue over motivesBerkshire Hathaway shareholders reject environmental and social policy proposals.© 2025 The Financial Times Ltd.

FT: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway lifts stakes in Japanese trading houses

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