On Sept. 26, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to buy what is now equivalent to 24.59% of BYD Co.’s Hong Kong-traded stock. Those shares in what is now China’s biggest maker of alternative-energy vehicles have soared more than 500% since then, turning a $232 million investment into a stake worth roughly $1.6 billion at current prices. Berkshire shares have rallied just 146% in the same 10-year period as of Tuesday’s close.

Buffett’s bet — made two years before Tesla Inc. listed and way ahead of the auto industry’s shift toward electric cars — has turned BYD into the billionaire investor’s most-valuable holding in a publicly traded company based outside the U.S. The Chinese firm has weathered sharp swings in its share price and transformed itself from a maker of cell-phone batteries into a manufacturer of cars and monorails as China’s transport needs evolved.

“BYD has recorded rapid growth over the past decade,” the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement. “Mr. Warren Buffett’s unparalleled personal charm and practical action have provided strong support for BYD’s development.”

The gain made by BYD in the past decade is the fourth-largest in dollar terms among the 27 companies in the Bloomberg World Auto Manufacturers Index, behind China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., Tesla and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

And BYD isn’t Buffett’s largest windfall from China, where he is revered for his investment skill and has been dubbed the “God of Stocks” by state media. Berkshire made a profit of about $3.5 billion in 2007 from divesting its shares in PetroChina Co., having first disclosed investments in the energy producer of $488 million in 2003.

2008年9月26日，巴菲特领导的伯克希尔-哈撒韦公司达成协议，收购如今中国最大替代性能源汽车生产商比亚迪港股股权，规模相当于现在比亚迪交易港股份数的24.59%。巴菲特收购以来，比亚迪股价累计上涨超过500%，收购时巴菲特投入2.32亿美元，以当前股价估算，这笔投资市值已达约16亿美元。截至本周二收盘，伯克希尔的股价十年间也不过涨了146%。

早在汽车行业转向电动汽车之前，巴菲特就押注了比亚迪。他出手两年之后，比亚迪的美国同行特斯拉才上市。现在，比亚迪已成为巴菲特投资组合里美国以外地区市值最高的上市公司。比亚迪的股价经历过大幅波动，随着中国的交通运输需求发展变化，公司已从手机电池生产商转型为汽车和单轨列车制造商。

总部位于深圳的比亚迪在声明中表示：“过去十年，比亚迪飞速成长。沃伦·巴菲特先生杰出的个人魅力和务实作风为公司发展提供了强大的支持。”

在彭博全球汽车制造商指数追踪的27家汽车企业中，过去十年里以美元计算比亚迪是增幅第四高的企业，仅次于中国的吉利汽车、特斯拉和印度最大汽车制造商马鲁蒂铃木公司。

巴菲特的长线投资理念在中国广受崇敬，更被官方媒体尊为“股神”，但比亚迪并不是他在中国市场最得意之作。2007年，伯克希尔抛售中石油股份获利35亿美元，而伯克希尔首次披露投资中石油是在2003年，当时投入了4.88亿美元。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林