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Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s real estate brokerage, acquired as an afterthought when billionaire Chairman Warren Buffett bought an energy business, is expanding its global reach with a push to attract wealthy Chinese citizens to purchase homes in the U.S.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices announced an agreement to advertise its U.S. homes on Juwai.com, which attracts about 2 million visitors a month.
The portal hosts sites on both sides of China's "great firewall," meaning consumers can access the information inside the nation from more than 400 cities and also from more than 160 other countries, according to a statement Monday.
HomeServices has been expanding under Buffett by opening new locations, forming a 2012 venture to expand licensing operations and then working to capitalize on demand from non-U.S. buyers.
The unit hired Realogy Holdings Corp.'s Peter Turtzo in 2015 to push into international markets and recruited Mitchell Lewis from Christie's International Real Estate in September to build operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
"The Chinese have overtaken all nationalities besides Americans as the leading buyers of property in the U.S.," said Gino Blefari, chief executive of Irvine, Calif.-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
The Juwai.com accord and other efforts overseas "make it much easier for Chinese real estate buyers to find and shop our property listings."
HomeServices owns 38 realty companies with more than 29,000 agents, according to Berkshire's most recent annual report. It also has a network of more than 375 franchisees with over 46,000 agents.
The energy unit's profit from the operation climbed 22 percent last year to $127 million. Buffett acknowledged in 2013 that when Berkshire bought the energy business in 2000, he "barely noticed HomeServices, which then owned only a few real estate brokerage companies."
The Berkshire brand and Buffett are both popular in China. Coca-Cola Co., which counts the billionaire as its top shareholder, recently announced a plan for his face to appear on cans of Cherry Coke in the country.
Kerry Donovan, vice president of marketing for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, is counting on new sales from listings and banner ads on Juwai.com.
"This is a huge differentiator for us," Donovan said.