TOKYO, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's vote of confidence in Japanese trading houses is helping Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) overcome long-held investor wariness about its complex global business that covers everything from sausages to natural gas, a top executive said.
"Until fairly recently, being an industrial conglomerate had negative connotations," Kobayashi said in an interview.
Appointed as the trading house's first chief stakeholder engagement officer in April, Kobayashi is now focused on wooing investors who focus on growth, not just value.
Berkshire first announced roughly 5% stakes in August 2020, with Buffett saying the trading houses "have many joint ventures throughout the world and are likely to have more".
read moreStill, Mitsubishi is trading at a price-to-book ratio of just a little over 1, or at almost no premium to the value of its assets.
Persons:
Warren Buffett's, wariness, Berkshire Hathaway, Kenji Kobayashi, Kobayashi, Itochu, outperforming, Buffett, Benjamin Graham, that's, Anton Bridge, Miho Uranaka, David Dolan, Miral
Organizations:
Mitsubishi Corp, Berkshire, Reuters, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nikkei, Columbia University, Thomson
Locations:
TOKYO, Berkshire, Japan