BYD rises on China plan for energy-saving cars

Bloomberg News (Beijing) - BYD Co. (1211), a Chinese maker of electric cars, rose to the highest level in more than three weeks in Hong Kong trading after the government announced a plan to promote the use of energy-saving automobiles.

The company, partly owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), gained 8.2 percent to HK$31.15 as of 1:07 p.m., headed for the highest closing price since June 19. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 percent.

China plans to boost technology and speed up the development of less energy-intensive and polluting industries to upgrade the structure of the economy and shift growth toward domestic demand, the central government said July 12 after a meeting of the State Council, China’s Cabinet. Government and public transport companies should take the lead in expanding the use of new-energy vehicles, it said.

First-half sales of alternative-energy vehicles in the nation rose 43 percent from a year earlier to 5,889 units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Electric-powered vehicles accounted for 87 percent of the total.

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where BYD is based, is considering incentives to encourage taxi operators to replace their 15,000 vehicles with electric cars, Lu Xiangzhen, director assistant of the city’s Energy Efficiency and New Energy Vehicles Pilot City Leading Group Office, said in a phone interview on July 2.