Berkshire to be a 'long-term investor' in China's BYD

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s David Sokol, one of Warren Buffett's top executives, said the company would be invested with China's BYD Co. for a "very long time."

"We're a long-term investor," Sokol said in an interview at in Omaha, Nebraska, where Berkshire is holding its annual meeting. "They know we're a supportive shareholder."

BYD Co., the Chinese maker of plug-in hybrid vehicles and rechargeable batteries, is preparing to sell electric cars in the U.S. Berkshire agreed in September 2008 to pay $231 million for a stake of approximately 10 percent in BYD through its MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. Sokol is chairman at the unit and was appointed to Shenzhen-based BYD's board of directors in August 2009.

Buffett has invested in the world's most populous nation through takeovers and stock purchases. His largest acquisition of a non-U.S. firm was Iscar Metalworking Cos., the Israeli company with operations in China.

BYD said yesterday it's locating its North American headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. The shares have more than tripled in the last 12 months in Hong Kong trading.