https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/us/06cncmeters.html?_r=1

Abu Dhabi Shares Profits From Parking Meters DEC. 5, 2009

When Mayor Richard M. Daley traveled to Abu Dhabi in February, his office announced that the trip was intended to sell Chicago as a place to do business. Left unsaid was that that Persian Gulf emirate was about to become one of the biggest investors in a deal to lease Chicago’s parking meters for 75 years.