March 15 (Bloomberg) -- BYD Co., the Chinese carmaker backed by Warren Buffett, gained in Hong Kong trading after more than tripling full-year profit on rising sales.

BYD climbed 0.2 percent to close at HK$69.05 in Hong Kong while the Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent. Net income for 2009 rose to 3.79 billion yuan ($555 million) from 1.02 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said yesterday.

In Asia Tuesday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to 21,023 and China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5% to close at 2,993. In Japan the Nikkei 225 Index slid 0.3% to 10,722.

In Hong Kong, Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. surged 8% after brokerages increased earnings estimates for the battery and electric car company. BYD has posted fantastic profits for 2009 with sales surging 162% for the year, according to Business Week, while China's auto sales as a whole surged 46%. The company has scaled back plans to begin mass-producing its cars in China this year, but has already delivered 100 E6 hatchbacks to Shenzhen Taxi Company Ltd., according to alibaba.com, which will be used as cabs in Shenzhen, the company's home turf. Not a bad advertising campaign.

Mexico's Carlos Slim beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for the top spot on Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires, becoming the first person from outside the United States to lead the rankings in 16 years.

The net worth of Slim, 70, who built a telecommunications empire after buying Mexico's state-run phone monopoly two decades ago, rose by $18.5 billion to $53.5 billion. Gates, 54, chairman of Microsoft, fell to second as his net worth increased by $13 billion to $53 billion. Buffett, 79, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, was third with $47 billion, a rise of $10 billion.

Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders was released over the weekend. Here are the highlights:

Business Operations-Book value increased 19.8% last year, gaining $21.8 billion in net worth, and is at $84,487 per share. In the last 45 years, Berkshire never had a five-year period during which its book value didn’t outperform the S&P 500.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said fourth-quarter profit surged, helped by derivatives bets tied to global stock markets, though operating profit fell 40 percent as the weakened economy weighed on several businesses.

Profit rose for a third straight quarter, and full-year profit increased 61 percent, as Berkshire rebounded from perhaps its worst year since Buffett took over in 1965.