South Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. retained the No. 2 spot in the world’s semiconductor market for the second consecutive year in 2013, bridging the gap with market leader Intel Corp., industry data showed Sunday.

According to the data by industry tracker IHS iSuppli, Samsung’s chip sales rose 8.2 percent on-year to $33.82 billion last year, with its global market share rising to 10.6 percent from 10.3 percent.

In contrast, market leader Intel’s shipments fell 0.9 percent on-year to $46.98 billion last year, and its market share dropped to 14.8 percent from 15.6 percent.

IHS iSuppli said the narrowed gap resulted from a surge in Samsung’s sales of chips for smartphones such as mobile DRAM, driven by the expanding smartphone market, with sales of Intel’s chips, mainly for personal computers, stagnating due to the PC market slump.

SK Hynix Inc., another South Korean chipmaker, recorded sales of $12.81 billion last year, up 42.8 percent from a year earlier, with its global market share rising to 4 percent from 3 percent. (Yonhap)