Samsung Electronics is expected to retain its No. 2 position in the global semiconductor market for two straight years, narrowing the gap in market share with Intel to 4.3 percent from last year’s 5.4 percent, according to market data.

A report on Sunday by market research firm IHS iSuppli said that Samsung’s market share in the semiconductor sector is expected to reach 10.5 percent from last year’s 10.3 percent as its sales are estimated to rise 7 percent to $33 billion.

The world’s top semiconductor maker Intel posted sales of $46.9 billion, a 1 percent drop from last year’s $47.4 billion.

Samsung’s sales growth is largely driven by the strong performances of its flagship products such as mobile dynamic random access memory, NAND flash memory, mobile application processors, and image sensors, analysts said.

As for SK Hynix, the nation’s second-largest semiconductor maker, sales are expected to reach $13 billion, a rise of 48.7 percent from last year’s $8.9 billion thanks to the price rise in DRAM. As the company’s market share rises to 4.2 percent from last year’s 3 percent, it will jump in the ranking to the fifth place from seventh.

Qualcomm maintained third place with $17.3 billion (5.5 percent) and Micron Technology, which recently acquired Japan’s Elpida, is expected to place fourth with $14 billion in sales.

Overall sales in the semiconductor market are expected to grow 4.9 percent to $318 billion this year from last year’s $303 billion, the report said.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)