Seoul-based SK hynix became the third largest chipmaker in the world for the first time in 2015, according to an industry report Tuesday.

SK Group’s chip business affiliate earned $16.5 billion revenue -- the third largest in the world -- last year, taking up 4.8 percent of the global market share, according to a report released by market researcher IHS.

The Korean firm pulled down its rival Qualcomm to the fourth place. The California-based chipmaker logged $16.4 billion in revenue.

Samsung Electronics, which has been trying to catch up with the long-time market leader Intel, saw its sales surpass the $40-billion mark in the same year, at $40.2 billion, for the first time. The U.S. chipmaker raked in $51.4 billion.

Samsung clinched 11.6 percent of market share as against Intel’s 14.8 percent.

Japanese chipmakers’ presence in the global market has dwindled from 15.7 percent in 2010 to 9.8 percent in 2015. Japan used to be a chipmaking powerhouse in early 2000s with a global market share of around 20 percent. However, major Japanese tech firms Panasonic, Hitachi, and Toshiba have shifted their focus away from chip businesses due to challenges posed by Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)