PRESS DIGEST-British Business - May 6

May 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

OpenAI President Greg Brockman testified that in 2017 Elon Musk stated he needed to accumulate roughly $80 billion for his Mars colonization project, aiming for a majority equity stake in the company to secure control.

HSBC HSBA.L faces a hit from the failure of Market Financial Solutions amid fraud allegations, causing first-quarter profits to fall unexpectedly.

The Guardian

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he is pausing "Project Freedom," the U.S. effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz, so that he can finalise a deal with Iran.

Two million airline seats have been cut from May schedules as airlines redraw their operations because of soaring jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.

The Telegraph

Nissan 7201.T has announced plans to close a production line at its Sunderland factory and cut 900 jobs in Europe as part of fresh restructuring efforts.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is to offload his 4.3 billion pound ($5.84 billion) stake in VodafoneThree in the wake of the merger of the two telecoms giants.

Sky News

The owner of TG Jones is planning around 100 shop closures under plans for a major overhaul of the struggling business.

The Independent

Restaurant chain Franco Manca will push ahead with the closure of 16 venues after a restructuring plan was approved by creditors.

($1 = 0.7366 pounds)