BYD posts tribute to Charlie Munger: 'We have lost a great mentor and dear friend'

BYD posted a tribute to Charlie Munger, the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman who was key to the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker's backing by Warren Buffett more than a decade ago.

"On Nov 28, we sadly lost a mentor and dear friend, Mr. Charlie Munger, a legendary and wise centenarian, a symbol of wisdom and vision," BYD wrote on Weibo today.

Munger passed away at the age of 99 on Nov 28, at a hospital in California.

BYD was recognized by Munger in 2008 when Berkshire Hathaway became a significant shareholder in the company, it said.

"That was the first time the company has been recognized by a top-tier international investment institution, injecting strong confidence and motivation for us to remain committed to the NEV industry," BYD said.

Below is the full text of BYD's tribute, translated by CnEVPost:

On Sep 29, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, in which Berkshire holds a 91.1% stake, spent USD230 million to purchase 225 million shares of BYD at a price of HKD8 per share. That was Berkshire's first investment in BYD.

After that, Berkshire's holdings in BYD were unchanged until last year.

On Aug 24, 2022, Berkshire sold 1.33 m BYD shares traded in Hong Kong, letting its stake drop from 20.04% to 19.92%, the first reduction since the company bought BYD shares.

Since last Aug, Berkshire has been consistently reducing its holdings in BYD, last on Oct 25 this year, bringing the percentage of BYD shares it owns down to 7.98%, according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.