HONG KONG - CHINA'S export hub, the Guandong province, is set for a sharp slowdown this year under the weight of the global financial crisis, prompting its government to boost public investment, a Hong Kong newspaper said on Saturday.

The southeastern province, which last year accounted for 28 per cent of China's exports and grew at a staggering 14.5 per cent, is poised for growth of 10.2 per cent this year, its slowest in three decades, South China Morning Post said citing governor Huang Huahua.

To counter the slowdown the provincial government plans to invest 2.3 trillion yuan (S$504.5 billion) over five years in 222 projects and spend further 5 billion yuan on support for hi-tech businesses, the paper said.

Hong Kong business associations and officials had warned that more than 3,000 Hong Kong-owned companies in the Pearl River Delta region had closed down in the past 12 months while thousands more could be shut in the next few months.

Hong Kong businesses have helped underpin Guangdong's robust economy, which in turn has been a key driver of China's recent double-digit growth. -- REUTERS