Vietnam's actual foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first 11 months of 2015 is expected to rise 17.9 percent to a record high of $13.2 billion, beating a government forecast, the government said on Thursday.

New FDI pledges in January-November edged up 1.1 percent from a year earlier to $13.55 billion, while the additional funds for existing projects were estimated at $6.67 billion in the period, the General Statistics Office said in a report.

The actual inflow is an all-time high, beating a forecast by a government minister in September of $12.5 billion.

More than half of the new investment pledges would go to the processing industry, followed by the energy and property sectors, the report said. South Korea is the biggest foreign investor, followed by Malaysia, the report said.

FDI inflows are an important source of foreign exchange for Vietnam to help stabilise the domestic currency, the Vietnamese dong as well as to offset its trade deficit, estimated at $200 million for November alone.

The country is also expected to face a trade deficit of $3.78 billion in the first 11 months of this year, the statistics office said, putting pressure on the dong which fell near a 10-week low on Wednesday.