저자: Omaha Archive · 외국인
다듬은 글
Uh, Mr. Buffett, uh, Mr. Abel, and Mr. Jain, good morning. Uh, I'm ST Jain. I'm from Hong Kong. Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger did a very good and successful investment in Japan in the past 5 or 6 years. The reasons CPI in Japan is currently above 3% not far away from its 2% target. Bank of Japan seems very determined in raising rates while Fed, ECB, and other central banks are considering to cut them.
Do you think BOJ, Bank of Japan, makes sense to proceed the rate hike? Will its planned rate hike deter you from further investing Japanese stock market or even considering to realize your current profits? Thank you very much for arranging this greatest event every year. Finally, I wish you healthy always and keep holding this shareholder meeting.
Thank you. Well, I'm going to extend the same goodwill to Japan that you've just extended to me. I I I want the people of Japan determine their best course of action in terms of economics. It's an incredible story, and uh, uh, but it's been about 6 years now, as you pointed out. I was just going through a little handbook.
Uh, the Buffett had 2 or 3,000 Japanese companies in it. One problem I have is that I can't read that handbook any more than the print is too small, but uh And there were these five trading companies that have a special name for them in Japan, but they were selling at ridiculously low prices and uh So, I started about the year acquiring them and then we got to know the people better and everything that Greg and I saw we liked better as we went along.
So, we got fairly close to the 10% limit that we we told the company we would never exceed without their permission. And uh [clears throat] so, we did ask them reasonably whether that limit could be relaxed and it's in the process of being relaxed somewhat. Um we I I would I would say that I'll speak for Greg beyond me that I'll in the next 50 years uh and I hope he's running things then.
We we won't give a thought to to selling those. I mean, they had uh uh and [clears throat] Japan's record has been extraordinary actually in terms of the the uh My guess is that Tim would tell you Tim Cook would tell you that iPhone sales are about as great as any country outside the United States. American Express would tell you that they sell their product very, very well in Japan.
Coca-Cola that we do business with is another big investment of ours. They do extraordinarily well in Japan. They have a number of habits and uh in a civilization that operates differently than ours. Uh [clears throat] Japan is by far the biggest uh they Now this is the container they've always preferred uh their soft drinks and and they have uh they have a whole different sort of distribution system there.
But we have been treated extremely well by the five companies they they they they talk with Greg pri- primarily. Uh I went over there a year or two ago, but uh [clears throat] Greg Greg Greg is Greg's more cosmopolitan than I am, so he he's a which isn't a saying much actually. About Very little. Anyway, but he is I I don't know the How many times do you think you've met with representatives of one company or the other?
Yeah, when you think of the five, there's definitely a couple meetings a year Warren, and I think the thing we're building with the five five companies is one, it's it's been a very good investment, but we are really as Warren touched on, we we envision holding the investment for 50 years or or forever.
But I think we also are building relationships to do incremental things with each of those companies. And we really do hope to do big things with them globally. They bring different perspectives and different opportunities and we see and that's the that's why we're building that long-term relationship with them.
It's super long-term and and and they have a much They have they have a uh They have different customs. They have different uh approaches to business. That's that's true around the world and and uh and uh [clears throat] we're not we we don't have any intention in any way of trying to change what they've done because it it it do because they they do it very successfully and uh and
[clears throat] our our our main activity is just to is just to cheer and clap and uh and that I can still do at 94. Uh so uh we will own those Yeah, we we will uh we we will not be selling any stock. I mean, that is just it's uh that that will not happen uh in in decades if then uh and I my guess is that they will find things cuz they cover the world pretty much uh the five trading companies.
We will find things occasionally that may be very large for any individual company there. Uh they may in some way be assisted by some some help we bring to the situation. Uh [clears throat] but but that will be an expanding relationship. Uh it's too bad that Berkshire has gotten as big as it as big as we love that position and I'd like it to be a lot larger than than it is, but even with the five companies being they're very large companies and they're large companies in Japan.
Uh and we've got at market you know, in the in the range of 20 billion dollars invested, but I'd rather I'd rather have 100 billion than 20 billion than that's the way I feel about it. It's all other investments we have but uh [clears throat] size is an enemy uh of performance at Berkshire and uh I don't know any good way to solve that problem but but uh Charlie always told me that having a few problems was good for me.
I never quite understood that but he if you listen to him or a wise you would understand. And and it's not an impossible problem at all. And it uh and the Japan the Japan investment is it's just been right up our alley. Do you want Do you want to add anything on that Charlie? No, I think uh you've touched it but um as you said it's right up our alley and I I absolutely agree Warren.
I I do believe we'll see some very large opportunities long-term. And that And that's just been a great plus of that that relationship. Yeah. Yeah, I would say they they they want to they would like to present us with opportunities. We would like to receive them. We've got the money. We both get along well very well with each other.
And they have different They have some different customs than than we have uh They drink the number one Coca-Cola product. They drink over there something called Georgia coffee. Uh [clears throat] so uh I'm I'm I haven't converted them to cherry Coke and they're not going to convert me to Washington Georgia coffee.
But uh it's uh it's a perfect relationship. I just wish we had could get more like it uh [clears throat] uh and I never dreamt of that when I picked up that little It wasn't so little. It was about that thick you but sometimes two companies to a page and [clears throat] and a couple of thousand pages of them, believe but it's amazing what you can find when you just turn turn the page.
They were We showed a movie last year that uh about turn every page. And I would say that turning every page uh is one important ingredient to bring to the investment field that uh and that very few people do. Turn every page and the ones who turn every page aren't going to tell you what they're finding. So, you you got to do a little bit yourself. Okay.
Comments 0