Malaysian giant Genting has reportedly taken a 4.9 per cent stake in Australian casino operator Echo Entertainment, further fuelling takeover speculation.

Genting, which is now one of the world’s largest casino operators, is believed to have built up substantial funds in order to make additional international acquisitions.

Echo has been at the centre of takeover speculation for a while now, largely driven by rival Australian casino group Crown, which also holds a 10 per cent stake in the company. Crown is understood to be keen to see Echo leverage its gaming licence in New South Wales in order to develop a second casino in Sydney.

To this end, Crown has been seeking to replace Echo chairman John Story with its own candidate on the board in order to influence the future direction of the company. Last week, Story appeared to bow to this pressure and resigned.

The news that Genting has now made a significant investment in Echo creates further uncertainty, although reports in Australia suggest that Crown chief James Packer could be set to meet with officials from the Malaysian company.