Hanoi (dpa) Oct. 1, 1998 - Vietnam's near free-fall from its perch as the Southeast Asian darling economy is continuing, with officials from a major international donor agency predicting late Thursday that growth could drop to as low as three per cent for the year.

``Things are still getting worse this year. And things are going to continue to get worse next year as well,'' said Nisha Agrawal, principal economist for the World Bank in Vietnam.

Agrawal put the country's growth rate at between three and five per cent, a downward adjustment from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank prediction last month of four to five per cent.

`` Vietnam is in an extremely difficult situation,'' Steer said.

``It would be a mistake for Vietnam to assume it's getting better,'' he said of the external conditions putting mounting pressure on Hanoi.