Asian investors will increasingly target assets in New Zealand including government debt securities, natural resources and farms, pushing up the value of the nation's currency, Prime Minister John Key said on Sunday.

"We are starting to see quite an increase in interest from Asia, particularly as they look at New Zealand and see the potential in the mining and exploration centers, we've seen significant interest there, and obviously in the agriculture sector where we have a pre-eminent position," Key said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal during a visit to Melbourne for talks with his Australian counterpart, Julia Gillard.