5 things to know about the Evergrande situation: A simple breakdown

The world is still waiting to find out what will happen to troubled Chinese conglomerate Evergrande and its enormous mountain of debt.

The property developer's debt crisis is a major test for Beijing. Some analysts fear it could even turn into China's Lehman Brothers moment, sending shockwaves across the world's second biggest economy. Real estate — and related industries — account for as much as 30% of Chinese GDP.

This week, investors experienced whiplash as the firm met one crucial debt deadline, but then failed to address another. Shares shot up one day, and down the next.

The coming days and weeks will be critical. While Evergrande has a grace period of up to 30 days on an interest payment of nearly $84 million that was due Thursday, it's supposed to make a payment on another bond next week.

That's fueling speculation over what could happen next, with potential outcomes including a Beijing-backed bailout, restructuring or default.