Bitexco Financial Tower Ho Chi Minh City Editorial Photo

Bitexco Financial Tower (Vietnamese: Tòa nhà Bitexco Financial) is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, owned by Bitexco Group, a Vietnamese company. With 68 floors above ground and three basements, the building has a height of 262.5 metres (861 ft), making it the tallest building in the city, the 3rd tallest in Vietnam, and the 124th tallest in the world, as of the beginning of 2016. The tower was designed by Carlos Zapata, Design Principal and Founder of Carlos Zapata Studio (www.cz-studio.com), with French company AREP as architect of record. Designer Zapata, who was born in Venezuela but is based in New York City, drew inspiration for this skyscraper's unique shape from Vietnam's national flower, the Lotus.[citation needed] Bitexco Financial Tower is a symbol of modern, outward looking Vietnam. The tower was officially inaugurated on October 31, 2010. In 2013, CNN.com named the Bitexco Financial Tower one of the 25 Great Skyscraper Icons of Construction.