Japan trainmaker shares jump on Vietnam deal report

TOKYO Aug 13 (Reuters) - Shares of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012.T) and other Japanese train makers jumped after a report that Vietnam's state-run railway firm plans to use Japan's bullet train technology in building its high-speed railroad system.

Japan's near half-century experience with its "Shinkansen" bullet train system, with zero fatalities to date, puts the country's firms in a strong position to win orders in a global railway investment boom.

"This is not just about Vietnam. If Japan manages to export its Shinkansen technology to Vietnam, that would help it export it to others including bigger countries like Brazil and the United States," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.

"That's what investors are looking at with this development."

The Shinkansen technology will be used in a railway system that will connect the capital Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, the Nikkei business daily quoted Vietnam Railways Chief Executive Nguyen Huu Bang as saying in an interview. The project's cost is estimated at $56 billion and the government aims to start running high-speed trains in 2020, the Nikkei said.

Shares in Kawasaki Heavy rose 6.5 percent to 262 yen, while Kinki Sharyo Co Ltd (7122.T) gained 7 percent to 899 yen and Nippon Sharyo Ltd (7102.T) advanced 5.5 percent to 632 yen. The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was up 0.7 percent.

Japanese manufacturers need to expand abroad as they face limited growth in rolling stock demand at home because of a mature train system and a shrinking population. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)