South Korea is one of eight emerging economies that are least likely to be jolted by an external shock, on the back of strong fundamentals, foreign investment banks said Tuesday.

Nomura put Asia’s fourth-largest economy at the eighth place on the list of 26 countries it picked whose financial soundness is deemed strong enough to stay unscathed from external jolts.

In the report compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance, the Japanese investment banking giant drew such an analysis based on comparison of each country’s foreign debt and reserves, as well as their current account balances.

Korea’s foreign currency-denominated debt as a percentage of its gross domestic product stood at 34 percent, the fifth-lowest after China, Russia and others, Nomura said.

Its short-term foreign debt as a percentage of its reserves came to 37 percent, in the lowest five including Brazil and the Philippines.

Nomura projected Korea will likely be one of the four emerging economies to retain momentum in their current account. (Yonhap News)