KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — Malaysia will have a minimal impact on the US-China trade war since the country is a small open economy, says Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

However, if the trade war continues to escalate, the whole global economy will be affected and there could be a reduction in global growth by 0.5 per cent by 2020, said BNM Governor Datuk Noor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.

"But having said that, one of our economy’s strengths is that we have a diversified economic structure.

"So, perhaps our exports will be affected by lower global growth but domestic activities will continue to sustain and this will provide a foundation for growth in that kind of scenario,” she said in a press conference after announcing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2018 here today. — Bernama