Alibaba says economic woes far from over

SHENZHEN - While China's economy is showing signs of recovery after the worldwide financial crisis, Jack Ma, chairman and chief executive of e-commerce company Alibaba Group, said the end of the financial crisis is yet to come.

This year and the next two years will be the toughest period of the crisis, Ma said on Friday at the shareholders' meeting of Alibaba.com Ltd (Alibaba), a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Alibaba Group.

"It's not the coldest when it is snowing, but rather when the snow is melting," he said.