HONG KONG, May 30 (Reuters) - Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital Group, an early investor in billionaire Jack Ma's Ant Group, has closed its fourth U.S. dollar-denominated private equity fund at $4 billion, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The fundraising by Primavera, which invests primarily in China but has diversified into Southeast Asia and North America over the years, comes amid global macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges that have weighed on dealmaking activities.

Primavera declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Reuters reported in 2021 Primavera was targeting $4 billion for its fourth dollar fund, with a hard cap of $5 billion.

Primavera, founded by former Goldman Sachs Greater China chairman Fred Hu, has invested in over 90 companies as of 2020, across tech, consumer, financial services, healthcare and education sectors, its website showed.

The private equity firm's investment portfolio also includes fast food chain operator Yum China Holdings Inc , social media giant Bytedance and Indonesian internet company GoTo Gojek Tokopedia PT Tbk, according to the website.

The new fund's target will be consistent with the firm's past investment strategy and will focus on opportunities in the Asia Pacific, primarily in China, said the sources, adding part of the capital may also be deployed in other global markets.

Asia-focused private equity funds raised about $131.6 billion in 2022, about half of 2021's $251.2 billion, Preqin data showed. Fundraising through May 5, 2023, has totalled just $15.5 billion, the data showed.

In other private equity fundraising activities in the region, Bain Capital is

nearing the final close

of its fifth and biggest Asia-focused fund after having raised around $6 billion from global investors, Reuters reported earlier this month. (Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christian Schmollinger)