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Singapore shares rose nearly 1 percent by midday to a three-week high, led by rigbuilder Sembcorp Marine Ltd after it won a drillship contract worth more than $800 million.
Shares were also buoyed by optimistic comments from a senior U.S. lawmaker on the country reaching a budget deal before the year-end that would ease the fiscal crisis.
The Straits Times Index climbed 0.9 percent to 3,040.43 points, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1 percent.
Sembcorp Marine rose 4.1 percent to S$4.56 after it said it had won its seventh drillship contract worth $806.4 million from Sete Brasil Participaces S.A.
"We believe delays faced by Brazilian yard, EAS, could lead to more rig contracts for Sembmarine from now till 2013, as a stop-gap measure by Petrobras," said CIMB Research in a note.
Olam International Surged by 4% to S$1.56
Commodity companies Golden Agri-Resources and Olam International were the strongest gainers on the index, with the former rising 4.7 percent to S$0.665.
Olam climbed 4 percent to S$1.56 after it put up a detailed defence against short-seller Muddy Waters' allegations questioning the company's accounting practices and acquisitions.
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