South Korean chipmaker SK hynix Inc.is expected to emerge as the world's No. 4 player this year, marking a two-notch rise from last year, data showed Thursday, narrowing its gap with market behemoths -- Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co.

SK hynix is anticipated to rake in $16.9 billion in sales this year, up 4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by industry tracker IC Insights.

The figure includes all chip segments from dynamic random access memory to system large scale integration products and foundry businesses.

Intel is expected to maintain its No. 1 status with a sales of $50.3 billion, followed by Samsung Electronics with $41.6 billion, the data added.

The gap between Intel and Samsung is expected to become narrower as Samsung's sales estimate rose 10 percent on-year, while that of Intel edged down 2 percent.

"In 2014, Intel's semiconductor sales were 36 percent greater than Samsung's. In 2015, the delta is forecast to drop by a whopping 15 percentage points to only 21 percent. Moreover, Samsung’s 'currency adjusted' semiconductor sales for 2015 are forecast to be only 11 percent less than Intel's," the researcher said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest foundry chipmaker, came in third with a sales estimate of $26.5 billion.

Following the rise of SK hynix, U.S.-based brands Qualcomm and Micron moved a notch down, respectively, to rank at fifth and sixth, the data also showed. (Yonhap)