Egyptian mobile carrier Mobinil is negotiating a LE2.5 billion ($357m) syndicated loan with four banks, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange on Wednesday.

The loan would be used for expansion purposes.

Mobinil was badly hit by the political turmoil unleashed after a popular uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The company reported a net loss of LE296 million in the first six months of 2013, down from a loss of LE47 million a year earlier.

Mobinil is the oldest mobile carrier in Egypt, currently taking up more than a third of Egypt's mobile market.