Buffett's Japan buys score $2 billion gain in one year

Warren Buffett's estimated $6 billion investment in five of Japan's largest trading houses is now worth around $8 billion, reports Bloomberg.

The gain of more than 30%, excluding dividends, is beating the 22% advance for Japan's benchmark Topix stock index.

Despite that success, Buffett's move "hasn't sparked a groundswell of international followers," with "many investors sidelined by uncertainty over the pandemic and political leadership."

The report quotes Tokai Tokyo Securities analyst Hideaki Kuribara as saying, "He bought at a good time. I expect him to hold for a long time, and over a long span these investments can be a success. It’s just what you would expect of him."

Last year on August 30 (Buffett's birthday), Berkshire announced that over the previous twelve months it had built stakes of slightly more than 5% for Itochu Corp., Marubeni Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., and Sumitomo Corp.

The companies are importers that also provide services to manufacturers.

At the time, Berkshire said it might increase some or all of those stakes to as much as 9.9%, depending on price. Buffett also hinted there might be additional investments, saying, "I hope that in the future there may be opportunities of mutual benefit."

With stock prices rising in Japan, it's not too surprising there's no indication Buffett has been doing more buying there.

Bloomberg notes that while Berkshire sold around $1.5 billion of yen-denominated bonds this year, money that could be used for more purchases, the company hasn't reported any changes in its existing trading house stakes. It would be required to reveal any increase or decrease of one percentage point or more.

It also hasn't disclosed any new purchases. The disclosure trigger there is a stake of 5% or more.

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BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

BERKSHIRE'S TOP U.S. STOCK HOLDINGS - Sept. 3, 2021

Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly-traded U.S. stocks by market value, based on today's closing prices.

Holdings are as of June 30, 2021 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on August 16, 2021, except for Apple, Bank of America, and U.S. Bancorp, which also include shares held as of June 30, 2021 as disclosed in New England Asset Management’s 13F filing on August 16, 2021.

In addition to U.S. stocks, shares held as of December 31, 2020 of China's BYD, as listed in Buffett's 2020 letter to shareholders, are included. The price of those shares in U.S. trading is used to approximate the current market value of the position. The value of the stake as a percentage of the company's market value is fixed at what was listed as of December 31, 2020 in the letter.

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

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-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch