Vietnam's economy will be one of the hardest hit in Asia from falling oil price according to a new report by the international rating agency Fitch Ratings.

Vietnam hit hard by low oil prices

The report shows that as of February 11, global crude oil prices dropped by 44 percent on last year and 75 percent on 2013. The lower prices will benefit Thailand while adversely affecting Vietnam's and Malaysia's economy. Vietnam will see oil net imports increase by one percent of GDP and decreasing export volumes. State revenues from crude oil in the first 15 days of the year reached VND1.8trn, a decrease of 48.6 percent on last year.

According to the National Financial Supervision Commission (NFSC), due to late payments, the prices of Vietnamese crude oil in the first quarter may be around USD40 per barrel. But it is predicted that prices would continue to fall to less than USD30 per barrel.

"We had hoped the price would be USD60 per barrel so it's highly likely that revenues won’t reach the goal set last year," said the representative of NFSC.

Several experts also said declining oil prices might affect foreign investment into Vietnam.

Can Van Luc, consultant for the chairman of BIDV Bank, said the lifting of sanctions on Iran's oil, increased US export and China scaling back demand could add to oversupply and low prices.

He said, "Lower revenue for the state budget is not the biggest concern. The contribution of crude oil to the state budget fell from 27 percent in 1996 to six percent in 2015. More important is that investment into petroleum industry will decrease. A Thai investor was considering a USD22bn investment into the sector, but could be reluctant when the prices dropped too low."