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Consolidation seems to be today’s hot topic. Tianjin plans to merge its four state-owned steel mills into one  with an annual capacity of 23 million tons. The Tianjin government is trying to repeat the success of Hebei Iron and Steel Group, which was created out of the merger of Tangshan Iron and Steel and two smaller competitors last year and is now the world’s fifth largest steel company. And consolidation is the goal behind China National Petroleum Corporation’s discussions with Kazakhstan’s state energy company, KazMunaiGaz, to acquire a 49% stake in MangistauMunaiGaz, the Central Asian country’s fourth-largest oil producer. But the same positive news can’t be said of divestitures. Australian firm BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, failed to sell its coal-bed methane business in China after being denied regulatory approval, possibly because of the Australian government’s review of proposed Chinese acquisitions in the country’s mining sector.