Egypt aims to conclude a non-financial agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by October to replace a three-year loan deal that expires this month, a step that may help the country remain an attractive market for foreign investors. Officials are exploring the various IMF programmes for which Egypt is eligible, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in London. “We understand that we have to choose from different options,” Maait told Bloomberg TV. A new deal, even if it does not come with loans attached, may help reassure investors that economic policy will stay on the current course, he added. The new programme, which could last about two years, would “support Egypt’s vision for the coming period of enhancing growth and structural reforms … Hopefully by October we will get it done,” he said.