Samsung to Lose Lead in Global Chip Market to Intel

Samsung is expected to lose its place as the world's top chipmaker to U.S. chip giant Intel this year due to a severe slump in the memory chip market.

In a recent report, global market researcher IC Insights forecast Samsung's semiconductor sales would plummet to US$55.61 billion this year, down 29 percent on-year and well below the estimated $69.88 billion for Intel.

Samsung took the No. 1 spot in 2017 and 2018 thanks to a booming memory chip market, beating Intel, which had held it from 1993 to 2016.

But the memory chip market has declined this year.

The non-memory chip business, meanwhile, has remained strong, helping Intel go from strength to strength as demand continues to grow for system semiconductors for state-of-the-art technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence.

This year, sales of 15 top global chipmakers are expected to tumble 15 percent on-year, but Intel alone is likely to be spared a drop. Last year, it posted sales of $69.83 billion.

SK Hynix, which also focuses mainly on memory chips, will also see its place in the global market slide this year. Its sales will plummet 38 percent to $22.89 billion, losing its third place to Taiwan's TSMC, according to IC Insights.