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Japan's Murata CEO sees slowdown in global smartphone market

CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) - Murata Manufacturing Co's chief executive forecast the global smartphone market to slow down in the next fiscal year to high, single-digit growth due to weaker demand in China. The outlook compares with the company's forecast for the market to grow by 12 percent in the current fiscal year through next March. "But demand for smartphone components is likely to continue growing... as a global shift to handsets with higher specifications will increase the number of parts installed in a single unit," Chief Executive Tsuneo Murata told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. Murata Manufacturing is the world's biggest supplier of ceramic capacitors, tiny parts that control the flow of electricity in a variety of products including TVs and car engine controls. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Ritsuko Ando)