Chip shortage prompts Volvo Cars to halt Belgian output for a week

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Volvo Cars, owned by China's Geely Holding, will halt production at its Belgian plant in Ghent over next week, it said on Thursday, citing a global shortage of semiconductor chips.

The chip shortage has hit automakers globally and stems from a confluence of factors as carmakers compete with the consumer electronics industry for supplies.

"We have taken the decision to stop production in Ghent during week 25 as a consequence of the chip shortage," Volvo Cars said in an emailed statement.

"This was a proactive decision to stabilise the situation and we plan to resume production on Monday June 28," it said, adding that all its global plants were running on Thursday.

Volvo Cars said in March that it had stopped or adjusted production in China and the United States for parts of that month.

The Swedish company, which increased global sales for the January to May period by 49.9% year on year, is considering listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange this year.

(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm; Editing by David Goodman)