South Korea's Samsung has overtaken US rival Intel as the world's biggest maker of semi-conductors as sales in the sector boom, a study published by consultancy Gartner showed on Thursday.

Samsung Electronics "gained the most market share and took the number one position from Intel -- the first time Intel has been toppled since 1992," said Gartner analyst, Andrew Norwood.

The total global market for semi-conductors grew by 22 percent to $419.7 billion (348 billion euros) in 2017, fuelled by growth in smartphones and other connected devices, Gartner calculated.

Samsung's sales jumped by 52.6 percent to $61.2 billion, giving it a market share of 14.6  ..

"Memory accounted for more than two-thirds of all semiconductor revenue growth in 2017, and became the largest semiconductor category," said analyst Norwood.

The key driver behind the booming memory revenue were higher prices due to a supply shortage, the study said.

NAND flash prices increased year-on-year for the first time ever, up 17 percent, while DRAM prices rose 44 percent.

"Equipment companies could not absorb these price increases so passe ..

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved