A unit of Warren Buffett's listed flagship Berkshire Hathaway has bought a 10 per cent stake in battery, handset component and carmaker BYD.
The HK$1.8 billion deal will allow Mr Buffett to tap into BYD's foray into the clean energy sector through electric car development.
The news is likely to bolster BYD's share price, as Mr Buffett is known to be a shrewd investor with the Midas touch. Berkshire reaped more than HK$12 billion of profit by investing and selling PetroChina shares between 2003 and last year.
Electricity and natural gas utility MidAmerican Energy Holdings, 87.4 per cent owned by Berkshire, bought 225 million shares in BYD, MidAmerican said in a statement.
The price of HK$8 per share represented a 4.76 per cent discount to last Friday's close of HK$8.40. The company did not specify whether they were existing or new shares, but said MidAmerican and BYD would hold a press conference today.
'As worldwide discussions relating to global climate change and environmental impact continue, the technologies being developed by BYD will be an integral part of the future,' said David Sokol, the chairman of MidAmerican.