Samsung Electronics is expected to defend its top spot in global semiconductor sales in the third quarter of the year, on the back of a strong memory demand.

Samsung, the world's largest memory supplier, was projected to log $22.32 billion in semiconductor sales in the July-September period, up 10 per cent from a quarter earlier, and maintain its lead against Intel Corp., according to the latest McClean Report from market researcher IC Insights.

Intel was estimated to collect $18.78 billion in semiconductor sales in the third quarter, down 3 per cent from a quarter earlier. The US tech titan was the only one among the top 15 semiconductor firms to report negative sales growth.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world's No. 1 foundry firm, was tipped to keep the third spot in the third quarter with sales of $14.75 billion, up 11 per cent from a quarter earlier.

South Korea's SK hynix was predicted to stay in the fourth position with sales of $10.13 billion in the third quarter, up 10 per cent from a year earlier, followed by the US memory giant Micron Technology Inc., whose sales were forecast to expand 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter to $8.46 billion, reports Yonhap news agency.

For the third quarter, IC Insights expected semiconductor sales from the top 15 suppliers to increase 7 per cent from the previous quarter to reach $111.52 billion.

"Semiconductor sales are forecast to remain robust through the end of the year, which supports IC Insights' current forecast of 24 per cent growth for worldwide semiconductor sales this year," it said.