Chinese investors and the annual pilgrimage to see Warren Buffett in Omaha, Nebraska
Thousands of Chinese journey to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting; many of them are not shareholders.
On his first pilgrimage to the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders along with 42,000 others, entrepreneur John Li wanted to sample all things Warren Buffett.
At the Omaha, Nebraska exhibit hall, he took selfies with cardboard cut-outs of Buffett, bought some See’s Candies (a Berkshire company) and ran in the 5k race sponsored by Brooks (also a Berkshire company), choosing number 1999 “because 9 means ‘long life’ in Chinese”.
He visited Buffett’s favourite steakhouse, Gorat’s, trying a T-bone and sipping a root beer float. A pained expression revealed his feelings about the sugary drink. But it did not spoil his appetite for Omaha – or his enthusiasm for Buffett.
“People want to see Warren Buffett. He is a genius of the investment world,” said Li, a compact, energetic 48-year-old who drove a minivan from Naperville, Illinois, bringing an employee from his marketing firm that helps wealthy Chinese make investments and immigrate to the United States.
Many Chinese visitors to the shareholders meeting suggest that Buffett, Omaha and Berkshire are symbols of friendly, longer-term, Sino-American economic and political relations.
The current relationship between the United States and China is not idyllic: pending trade policies may limit Chinese imports, government interventions could stop acquisition deals, a State Department employee was arrested last year for aiding Chinese spies, and some Americans are not welcoming of immigrants.
Despite these and other tensions, thousands of Chinese visitors still journeyed to the Coachella of capitalism, a corporate powwow unlike any other on Earth.
They came to network with other investors at breakfasts, lunches, dinners, receptions and mini-investing conferences.
They came to listen to six hours of entertaining, folksy banter and financial insight from the resident wizards of Berkshire Hathaway: chairman and chief executive Buffett and vice-chairman Charlie Munger.
News reports indicate that the Chinese contingent at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting has grown toward 5,000 this year, up from roughly 1,000 in 2014.
Many are not Berkshire shareholders. They come for the spectacle, the networking and the learning.
Yahoo Finance live-streamed the annual meeting to 3 million people worldwide on Saturday in two languages: English and Mandarin.
In China, Buffett’s visage has adorned Cherry Coke bottles, mouse pads and phone cases. Two separate Chinese executives gave more than US$2 million to a charity to have lunch with Buffett in 2008 and 2015.
Buffett’s long-term view, his humility to admit mistakes and his traditional demeanour aligns with Chinese values. His story of growing wealthy through intelligence rather than inheritance inspires many Chinese.
Half the presentations are in English and half are in Chinese.
Started by New York-based investment manager Ming Zhong and now managed by a Chinese event planner in Chicago, the summit has featured Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Shiller, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts and Wall Street veteran Harry Edelson alongside Chinese tycoons.
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“The United States and China are going to be the two superpowers of the world economically and in other ways over time,” Buffett said.
“We have a lot of common interests and, like two big economic entities, there are times there will be tensions. It is a win-win situation when the world trades basically. And China and the US are the two big factors in that.”
Walking through downtown Omaha, Li said he plans to re-listen to the five hours of investor questions and answers when he gets home.
He is a sales representative for Tencent’s new payment platform and is thinking of focusing on that more than his immigration and investment business, which faces some political risk.
If Li ends up with spare cash, he would like to invest in Berkshire shares. Meanwhile, as a US citizen of two decades, he says he is not worried about the future.
“I still feel comfortable with the two countries,” Li said. “They rely on each other. If they fight, there is no benefit for each other. Eventually, they have to sit down and resolve it. I feel Chinese people always have a method and willingness to solve the problem. We are very flexible. ”
http:// www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2145822/chinese-investors-and-annual-pilgrimage-see-warren