The global semiconductor industry saw its total sales approach 300 billion U.S. dollars last year.

U.S. based market research firm Gartner said that global chip sales marked 299-point-four billion dollars last year, up 31 percent year-on-year.

Intel saw its sales jump 25-point-six percent to 41-point-nine billion dollars in 2010, retaining the top spot for the 19th consecutive year. Samsung Electronics, which ranked second, posted 28-point-one billion dollars, up 58 percent from a year ago.

Gartner said that global chip sales surged last year due to strong demands as electronics companies actively sought to increase their inventories.