News
28 October 2024
The year is 2010 and economists are in a frenzy about a hot-headed go-getter by the name of Elon Musk taking his company, Tesla, public.
The year is 2010 and economists are in a frenzy about a hot-headed go-getter by the name of Elon Musk taking his company, Tesla, public.
Ambitious plans to capitalise on a clean energy future and unrelenting demand for electric cars has Tesla on the minds of all investors. With charisma to match his sleek, yet flamboyant dreams – everyone was talking electric vehicles, Space-X and any other zany concept Musk uninhibitedly tweeted.
Every move the young Mr Musk made turned heads.
Rewind two years to 2008.
On September 26, 2008, a savvy American investor with no Twitter account just inked a deal to purchase 24.59% in a little known mobile phone battery manufacturer trading on the Hong Kong exchange.
At the time, this Westerner’s $232 million investment into the Hong Kong stock represented his most valuable holding outside of the United States. There was nothing sexy about it but within the need for mobile phone batteries, someone saw the potential for a scalable product that could solve significant issues we now face today.
The investor was Warren Buffett and this story of how he turned $232 million into around $1.6 billion is just one of the reasons he is known within Chinese media as “The God of Stocks”.
Since 2008, BYD Co. has been at the forefront of battery manufacturing with it’s major products including those for electric vehicles, both for personal and commercial use. The combination of China’s growing population, expansive land disbursement and history of pollution now make this investment a no-brainer. But did we see it in 2008? I certainly didn’t.
This uncanny foresight to identify prime investment opportunities and an impeccable track record of doing so, is why investors attempt to track “The God of Stocks” and his movements.
One way of gaining international exposure to Buffett’s investing strategy is via his hugely successful company – Berkshire Hathaway. Excitingly, we currently have an investment opportunity open that does just that – Click here to find out more.
Oh, and Buffett also happens to still be Chairman…
