In the last four years, the Hong Kong IPO market has taken a few knock backs. 2012 saw the city's bourse ranked just fourth in global IPO rankings down from number one – where it had sat for the previous three years – and then last summer, just as dealflow appeared to be back on track, Chinese internet giant the Alibaba Group announced it would no longer be using Hong Kong as a platform for the world's largest IPO on record, but instead looking to the US.

Which is why the exchange's ranking as the number two bourse for 2014, having seen 90 new listings valued at $29bn according to Dealogic, was such good news. One could blame the global economy – worldwide IPO value topping $263bn during the year, up 52% from 2013 and reaching its highest levels since 2010, but most market observers would agree that Hong Kong's success has been, and will continue to be, more entrenched in its unique ability to service China.

Of course there is no doubt that the market has evolved – previously boasting mega deals by state-backed power companies and big banks; only to be characterised now by lower-value listings of small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises, mostly in the consumer and technology sectors (which is to be expected of a country which is transitioning from a manufacturing hub to a consumption-based economy). The way law firms have tendered for deals and arranged payments has also shifted, with most now expecting much lower fee quotes in light of high competition and a change in client profile, but requiring payment in installments in the event that a deal won't close. And yet despite all these changes, the overall outlook for Hong Kong as a financial hub remains fairly positive, and the hope is that in 2015, the market will remain steady on all fronts.