Japanese Trading Companies' Shares Rise After Buffett Increases Stakes

By Ronnie Harui

Shares of Japanese trading companies rose Tuesday after U.S. investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo.

Shares in Itochu rose 2.2% to 5,744 yen ($40.45), those in Marubeni gained 3.8% to Y2,553.0, those in Mitsubishi advanced 4.2% to Y7,237, those in Mitsui climbed 4.3% to Y5,806 and Sumitomo shares were up 2.0% at Y3,121.

Excluding shares of treasury stock, Berkshire's ownership interest in each of the five trading companies now averages more than 8.5%, it said in a press release after Monday's Tokyo stock-market close.

These five companies are currently the only publicly traded investments that Berkshire owns in Japan, and their aggregate value "considerably exceeds" that of Berkshire-held public stocks in any other country outside the U.S., Berkshire said.

Buffett and Gregory E. Abel, Berkshire's vice chairman of noninsurance operations, said they "continue to be delighted" with the Japanese investments, and hope to eventually own 9.9% of each of the five companies, they said in the press release. Berkshire's intention continues to be to hold its Japanese investments for the long term, it said.

Write to Ronnie Harui at ronnie.harui@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2023 20:43 ET (00:43 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.