New | Japan Display CEO hints at strong Apple orders despite China slowdown

Japan Display Chief Executive Mitsuru Homma on Thursday said  the screen maker's "biggest client", widely understood to refer to Apple, is increasing orders ahead of the expected launch of a new iPhone this month.

Homma said weakness in China's smartphone market, the world's biggest, amid that country's broader economic slowdown, did not appear to be affecting Apple's display orders.

"They're coming to us with more orders, saying 'give us more, give us more'. They keep increasing," he said in an interview.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook last week reassured shareholders about the strength of the Chinese market for iPhones after a slump in China's stock market and the devaluation of the yuan rattled investors.

"I continue to believe China represents an unprecedented opportunity over the long term," Cook wrote in remarks that sparked a rebound in the US tech-giant's share price from a China-induced slump of 19 per cent from its record high in February.

iPhone activations in China had accelerated over the past few weeks and the App Store in China had recently posted its best performance of the year, Cook said.