Bitexco Chairman Vu Quang Hoi said the 68-storey Bitexco Financial Tower (BFT), bordered by District 1's Ngo Duc Ke, Hai Trieu and Ho Tung Mau streets, offered grade A+ space with facilities for the most demanding tenants.

Advantages of the US$270 million tower, whose design is said to be inspired by the lotus flower, include a helicopter pad on the 50^th floor.

The building can withstand earthquakes that measure up to eight Richter.

Around 40 percent of BFT's 37,000square metres of office space are under procedures for lease to tenants and contracts are expected to be signed in a month. The chairman said he hoped up to 90 percent of the space would be leased out over the next 12 months.

Architect Carlos Zapata, whose works include the Cooper Square Hotel in New York and the Soldier Field in Chicago, designed the tower, while the US-Korean Hyundai E&C was its main contractor.