Singapore shares rose for the second straight day, with the world's largest rig builder Keppel Corp Ltd a stand out gainer after winning a $4.1 billion deal, while Australian construction and engineering firm Civmec Ltd made a strong market debut.

The Straits Times Index advanced 0.7 percent to 2,998 and was on track to end with a weekly gain of 0.4 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1 percent.

"The stronger-than-expected Singapore GDP advanced estimates set a positive backdrop for the upcoming results season," brokerage DBS Vickers said in a note and kept its 2,910-3,030 range for the STI in the short term.

Keppel Corp shares jumped as much as 3.6 percent to an 11-month high on volume of 6.2 million shares, about 1.7 times the average full-day volume over the past 30 days.

Civmec shares surged as much as 54 percent above its initial public offering price of S$0.40 - the latest in a string of IPOs taking advantage of improved market conditions.

1305 (0505 GMT)

(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com)