According to media reports, Morgan Stanley is hiring contract employees for the first time in Hong Kong to handle the sharp increase in initial public offering (IPO) activity while managing rising costs by forgoing full-time hires. Sources indicate that, given global market volatility and the high expense of full-time recruitment, contract staff offer a significantly lower total compensation compared to regular bankers, allowing the bank to reduce expenses while handling more deals. Since late last year, Morgan Stanley’s investment banking division has begun hiring staff on one-year contracts, primarily responsible for due diligence on listing applications. The report also noted that in the fourth quarter of last year, Morgan Stanley formed an IPO support team of about 10 people, focusing on due diligence for Hong Kong and U.S. IPOs, with particular emphasis on Chinese companies. Hong Kong regained its position as the world’s top IPO market by size last year, with fundraising volume increasing 2.3 times to $37.4 billion. According to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing data, as of February 27 this year, there were 530 mainboard listing applications, reflecting strong demand. The report stated that, as of mid-February, Morgan Stanley acted as sponsor for 10 listed companies in Hong Kong.