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Economy

The great majority of Sri Lankan corporations have their head offices in Colombo including Aitken Spence, Ceylinco Corporation, Stassen group of companies, John Keells Holdings, Cargills, Hemas Holdings and Akbar Brothers. Some of the industries include chemicals, textiles, glass, cement, leather goods, furniture and jewellery. In the city centre is the World Trade Centre. The 40-story Twin Tower complex is the centre of important commercial establishments, in the Fort district, the city's nerve centre. Right outside the Fort area is Pettah which is derived from the Sinhala word pita which means 'out' or 'outside'.

The Colombo Metropolitan area has a GDP (PPP) of $122 billion or 40% of the GDP, making it the most important aspect of the Sri Lankan economy. The per capita income of the Colombo Metro area stood at US$8623 and purchasing power per capita of $25,117, making it one of the most prosperous regions in South Asia. The Colombo Metropolitan (CM) area is the most important industrial, commercial and administrative centre in Sri Lanka. A major share of the country's export-oriented manufacturing takes place in the CM area, which is the engine of growth for Sri Lanka.

The Western province contributes less than 40% to the GDP and about 80% of industrial value additions although it accounts for only 5.7% of the country's geographic area and 25% of the national population. Given its importance as the primary international gateway for Sri Lanka and as the main economic driver of the country, the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has launched an ambitious program to transform Colombo and its area into a metropolis of international standards. Bottlenecks are preventing the Colombo metropolitan area from realizing its full economic potential. To facilitate the transformation of Colombo, the government has to address these bottlenecks which have for long been obstructing economic and physical urban regeneration.

Pettah is more crowded than the Fort area. Pettah's roads are always packed and pavements are full of small stalls selling items from delicious sharbat to shirts. Main Street consists mostly of clothes shops and the crossroads, which are known as Cross-Streets where each of the five streets specialises in a specific business. For example, First Cross Street is mostly electronic goods shops, the Second cellular phones and fancy goods. Most of these businesses are dominated by Muslim traders. At the end of Main Street further away from Fort is Sea Street – Sri Lanka's gold market – dominated by Tamil interests. This mile-long street is full of jewellery shops, including the former head office of SriLankan Airlines.