The Two International Finance Centre, a 415 meter (1364 feet), 88 story skyscraper, is the tallest building in Hong Kong, the third tallest in China, and the world’s seventh tallest office building. The tower is located on Hong Kong Island in the Central District along the waterfront, and is a prominent feature on Hong Kong’s world-renowned skyline. Two International Finance Centre is part of the International Finance Centre, which is comprised of the two skyscrapers (One International Finance Centre and Two International Finance Centre), the International Finance Centre Mall, and a 55-story Four Seasons Hotel. Construction began in January 2000 and was completed in May 2003.
The developer of Two International Finance Centre was Central Waterfront Property, which was a joint venture between Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land Development. The two towers were both designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli. One International Finance Centre closely follows the design of the Goldman Sachs Tower of Jersey City, another one of Pelli’s designs. Two International Finance Centre is designed in the shape of an obelisk, culminating in a sculptural crown at the top. When the tower is lit up at night it resembles a beacons shimmering across Victoria Harbor.
Two International Finance Centre is a multi-use tower with office, retail and parking spaces. The office spaces are intended to accommodate the needs of multinational financial institutions. The building is comprised of nearly two million square feet of office space, has twenty two high ceiling trading floors, and offers advanced telecommunication systems, open floor plans, and flexible cabling systems to meet the complex needs of its financial clients. Two International Finance Centre is also one of only a few buildings in the world to have double deck elevators.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has an exhibition area on the 55th floor which house an exhibit featuring the monetary history of Hong Kong as well as a library. Joseph Yam, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, has an office on the 88th floor. Other prominent tenants of Two International Finance Centre include Ernst & Young, Bank of America, Nomura International, Lehman Brothers, the Financial Times, and Texas Pacific Group.
There was controversy over Two International Finance Centre obstructing views of the Victoria Harbour. The tower, by cutting the ridgeline of Victoria Peak, broke the Metroplan guidelines that stated viewers must be able to see 20 to 30% of Victoria Peak above any new developments along key points on the waterfront. The top floor of the Two International Finance Centre is higher than the Victoria Peak viewing gallery and there were some objections and complaints raised. However the Town Planning Board gave its approval for the development in 1996.
Two International Finance Centre has made appearances in the movies Tomb Raider 2 and Dark Knight, a Batman movie. The building also has the distinction of having the largest advertisement to ever appear on a skyscraper. In October and November 2003 HSBC, the Financial Times and Cathay Pacific put up an ad on the facade of Two International Finance Centre that covered the area of 50 stories or 230 meters.