Samsung grabs over 10% share of global chip market

  Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chip maker, maintained its share of the global chip market at more than 10 percent in the first quarter on the back of a growth in system semiconductors, industry data showed Monday. According to the data compiled by market information provider iSupply, Samsung accounted for 10.5 percent or US$7.77 billion of the global semiconductor market in the January-March period to rank second among the world's major chip makers.  Intel Corp. of the U.S. took the top spot with $11.16 billion in sales for a 15.1 percent share, the data showed. Samsung held on to the top position in the memory chip market in the first quarter with a 33.3 percent share and $4.71 billion in sales, according to the data.  Last year, Samsung accounted for 10.3 percent or $31.26 billion of the global semiconductor market. It marked the first time that Samsung's global market share had topped the 10 percent mark.  In 2011, Samsung secured a 9.2 percent market share with sales of $28.56 billion, the data showed.  The improvement in market share is attributable to its recent active investment in system semiconductors including application processors, according to experts. System on a chip, or a system semiconductor, refers to integrating all components of a computer or other electronic system onto a single integrated circuit and is a technology frequently used in the latest smartphones and tablet PCs.