Norio Nakajima, president of the world's largest MLCC maker, said in a recent interview that the decline in smartphone sales this year will continue until 2023.

Consumers in China, the world's largest smartphone market, have yet to respond to the spending boom, and Murata sees little prospect of a rebound next year. "At least in fiscal 2022, the momentum will not resume and the situation will not be so optimistic going into the next period," Norio Nakajima said.

"If the economy improves, consumers may be willing to buy a new phone, even if it's a small upgrade. My concern is that smartphones will become more commoditized and people will wait longer before upgrading," Nakajima said.

According to Murata's estimates, the global mobile phone market was 1.36 billion units last fiscal year, but this year's figure is likely to be less than 1.2 billion.