Warren Buffett is turning his focus back to Japan as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. kicked off a yen bond sale and the billionaire investor told Nikkei that he intends to boost his investments in the country.
(Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett is turning his focus back to Japan as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. kicked off a yen bond sale and the billionaire investor told Nikkei that he intends to boost his investments in the country.
Shares of Japan’s major trading houses jumped after Buffett said he’s raised his holdings in them to 7.4% from about 5% in 2020 and is looking to increase his exposure to Japanese stocks, according to the Nikkei report.
“This may encourage foreign investors to invest in Japanese stocks, especially in value stocks,” Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management.
Separately, the US holding company is set to price the bonds as soon as this week, in what would be the first yen issuance from an overseas issuer since Kazuo Ueda took the helm at the Bank of Japan this month. The proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing some debt.
Shares of Mitsubishi Corp., the biggest trading house, rose as much as 3%, the most since March 1. Mitsui & Co. surged as much as 3.7%, while Marubeni Corp., Sumitomo Corp. and Itochu Corp. also extended gains. Japan’s Topix extended gains after news of the report.
Berkshire has already started marketing a seven-tranche bond sale, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Officials at the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Nikkei story.
The veteran investor’s company is offering wider credit spreads on tranches in the new deal than when it last tapped the market in December, as speculation about the BOJ pulling back on ultra-easy policy drove yield premiums higher this year. Still, Ueda signaled at his inaugural news conference Monday that any significant policy changes may be unlikely for the time being.
Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest foreign issuers of yen bonds, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The firm surprised Japanese markets in 2020 when it bought shares in local trading companies after selling one of the biggest-ever yen bond deals by an overseas company.
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