Press TV- Iran�s leading cargo shipping enterprise � the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) � has rejected a report that it is planning to float its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).� �

Mehdi Habib-Beigi, the director of IRISL Public Relations Department, has dismissed the report as �totally false.�

Habib-Beigi told Iran�s Fars news agency that the company had no plans to float its shares on the LSE.

Reuters in a report on Monday had said that top executives from the IRISL had held meetings in London to discuss a possible listing on the LSE. However, it said the company�s attempts to that effect had so far been thwarted by US sanctions that still scare banks off Iranian businesses.

The move that Reuters described as �landmark� would have made the IRISL the first Iranian company to be listed on the LSE after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

It also added that the complications that were stonewalling Iran�s efforts showed how far Tehran still remained from its goal of integrating fully with the global economic mainstream after the removal of US-engineered sanctions against the country last year.

The IRISL has a fleet of 26 ships and is pursuing an ambitious plan to become a leading global player in maritime transportation.

Last December, the company signed a contract with South Korea�s Hyundai over the building of 10 ships at a total price of $626 million.

Reuters also reported� that the IRISL was considering to turn to the Italian stock exchange, Milan's Borsa Italiana, if its attempt to get listed on the LSE failed.

Habib-Beigi did not react to this part of the report.