BYD said the move was a free choice for its shareholder and that the company had tried to communicate with BlackRock but did not receive any substantive information.
BlackRock reduced its position in BYD's H shares last week, a move that seems normal for the world's largest asset manager but has generated widespread coverage in the Chinese media.
BlackRock reduced its holdings in BYD H shares twice last week, dropping its stake from 6.21 percent to 5.85 percent, according to Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings.
The asset management firm's stake in BYD H shares was 6.21 percent on October 11, which dropped to 6.17 percent on October 12 and to 5.85 percent on October 13.
BlackRock's move received dozens of Chinese media reports, after the legendary US investor Warren Buffett's previous reduction of his BYD holdings sparked concerns.
For the specific reasons for BlackRock's reduction, the Securities Times today cited BYD's response as saying that the company had tried to communicate with BlackRock but did not get any substantial information and that the move was a free choice for its shareholder.
It is worth noting that on October 11, the day before the reduction of BYD's holdings, BlackRock increased its holdings of BYD H shares on October 10, boosting its shareholding from 5.91 percent to 6.21 percent.
The Securities Times quoted an unnamed industry insider as saying that BlackRock has a habit of frequent trading, and the move is a short-term behavior.
As of September 30, BlackRock had $7.96 trillion in assets under management, down from $9.46 trillion in the same period last year, its third-quarter earnings report showed.
In late August and early September, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings in BYD twice, sparking heightened concern.
BYD subsequently said that it was an investment decision by its shareholder and that BYD was experiencing record sales and was operating in healthy conditions.
On October 17, BYD said in an earnings preview that it expects a third-quarter net profit of RMB 5.5 billion ($764 million) to RMB 5.9 billion, up 333.60 percent to 365.11 percent from RMB 1.27 billion in the same period last year.
BYD expects third-quarter earnings of RMB 1.89 to RMB 2.03 per share, up from RMB 0.44 in the same period last year.
Previously announced data showed that BYD delivered 538,704 new energy vehicles in the third quarter, up 194.37 percent year-on-year and 51.74 percent from the second quarter.
BYD shares traded in Hong Kong were down 3 percent to HK$198.80 as of press time, though that was better than Nio's 5.85 percent drop, Xpeng Motors' 9.23 percent drop and Li Auto's 3.74 percent drop.
Hong Kong stocks are down overall today, with the Hang Seng Index now down 1.93 percent and the Hang Seng Tech Index down 3.52 percent.
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