Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO: AI data centers bring opportunities for its energy business, intends to hold Japanese trading houses long-term.

Greg Abel, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, told CNBC in an interview that the company plans to hold its stakes in Japan’s five major trading houses as long-term investments, expected to be held for decades. Currently, Berkshire holds over 10% of each of the five trading houses’ shares, and is continuing to explore other collaboration opportunities in Japan and overseas with these firms. Abel also noted that despite Japan’s 10-year government bond yield rising to around 3%, the five trading houses do not view the interest rate hike as a fundamental challenge, and Berkshire still plans to continue issuing yen bonds as appropriate. On AI investments, Abel said the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the practical application of AI in Berkshire’s subsidiaries are key reasons the company is bullish on Alphabet. Regarding AI data center construction, he believes energy supply and related infrastructure development remain major constraints, which also presents important opportunities for Berkshire and its subsidiary Berkshire Energy. Abel pointed out that the company is willing to provide energy services to large tech firms’ data centers, provided that this does not harm the interests of other clients and delivers net benefits to local communities. On the U.S. housing market, Abel stated that Berkshire takes a long-term view of the housing sector, arguing that the "American Dream" will persist, but there will be no rapid recovery in the short term, and the industry may still face volatility for some time to come. For the overall economy, he said most of Berkshire’s major businesses performed strongly through the second quarter, with demand remaining robust, but U.S. consumers are still under significant pressure and need to manage their income more cautiously. Overall, Berkshire currently views the economy’s fundamentals as "very strong."