Effective January 1, 2010, an agreement between Ghana and Switzerland for the prevention of double taxation comes into force. The agreement, signed in July 2008 and ratified by the Ghanaian and Swiss Parliament in 2009, protects investors from the two countries from double taxation on income, wealth and capital gains. Specifically, Swiss direct investment in Ghana and Ghanaian direct investments in Switzerland will be encouraged and withholding tax on dividends, interest, licence royalties and service fees will be limited. Statistics from the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) as per end of June 2009, ranked Switzerland 14th among foreign investors in Ghana. This agreement will therefore promote favourable bilateral economic relations and further encourage Swiss direct investment in Ghana. A number of Swiss companies are present in Ghana, and are major players especially in the food and services industry.