STOCKS | Berkshire CEO Abel Pledges Long-Term Support for Japan's Five Trading Houses

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel pledged long-term support for Japan's five trading houses. According to Sina Finance, he said Berkshire expects core earnings at the companies to keep growing, while dividends and share buybacks may also increase. Abel said Berkshire first invested in Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., Itochu Corp., Sumitomo Corp., and Marubeni six years ago and has since raised its stakes, with holdings in each company now above 10%. He added that Berkshire intends to hold the investments for decades and also regularly issues yen-denominated bonds. Berkshire announced in March a strategic investment in Tokio Marine Holdings, taking a 2.49% stake and seeking cooperation on global investments, including M&A deals. Abel said he would support any transaction if it made sense for Tokio Marine Holdings and Berkshire, but declined to comment on specific acquisition targets. He also discussed Berkshire's $10 billion investment in Alphabet Inc. and said the bet began with a stock-picking decision made by Warren Buffett last year, citing the tech company's ambitions in artificial intelligence. Abel said Berkshire also wants to benefit from the AI boom by supplying energy to data centers run by hyperscale cloud providers through Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Abel said he has noticed opposition to some data center projects and would only support them if they do not affect other customers' energy prices and if local communities are willing to accept them and understand their impact on water resources.